Three Knives
by Diswrit
Summary: While hunting a Trickster, Dean and Sam are dumped through a wormhole that sends them back to 1992. There, they meet another hunter, one who might be able to send them back to where they came from. But she wants something from them in return. Now thrust into a family feud spanning centuries, neither of the boys are sure if they'll make it out alive, or if they'll ever get home.
1. Chapter 1

_The righteous seek not revenge, but forgive their enemies.  
For when are the Fallen justified in the pursuit of vengeance?  
They that would persecute the innocent do not fall,  
nor are they condemned by others,  
but in the blindness of anger and hatred,  
by their own hand are they cast into the eternal agony of Hell._

**- Katherine Arandez**

Dean Winchester got out of the car, and closed the door behind him, before leaning back over and sticking his head in the window, looking at his younger brother, Sam, who was in the drivers seat.  
"Bring me back pie," Dean said.  
"I'll try," Sam replied, rolling his eyes. He started backing the car up, and Dean withdrew from the window quickly.  
"I mean it Sammy! I want some pie!" he yelled after him as he drove off. He snorted, doubting he would get his pie, and turned, heading for his motel room. He opened the door, and stepped in, locking it behind him, before turning, and taking his coat off, throwing it across the room. He didn't bother to look and see where it landed, but moved on to the sink in front of the bathroom door, splashing water on his face, and shivering at the cold. He straightened, wiping his face off. He spotted a dark figure in the mirror, standing in the bathroom door. He grabbed the gun out of the waistband of his pants, turning quickly. The figure moved much more quickly than he could, and he was on the floor before he realized what was happening, and the intruder had a foot on the wrist holding the gun.  
"Dean, calm down," they said. He moved his free hand, intending to grab their leg and pull them down, but they grabbed his hand almost before it it started moving, slamming it back down to the floor. They crouched down, bending themselves around so that one foot stayed on his left wrist, their left hand holding his right down, and their left knee pressing down on his chest.  
"Dean, it's me," they said, and he got a look at their face for the first time. It was a girl, who looked like she was in her early twenties, with bushy dark blonde hair that fell halfway down her back, and hazel eyes that seemed to shift and swirl. His eyes widened in recognition.  
"Alice?" he asked. She smiled.  
"Hi Dean. It's been a while, hasn't it?" she said. He just stared at her.

2 Years Earlier

There was a bright flash of light, which died down as suddenly as it had come into being, leaving the two Winchester boys stumbling, holding wooden stakes. It took them a moment to regain their bearings.  
"What the hell just happened?" Dean demanded.  
"How am I supposed to know that?" Sam asked.  
"Well where are we?" Dean asked. They both stopped, taking a look around them.  
"A cheap motel," Sam said, looking at the general setup of the place.  
"Yeah, but where is it?" Dean asked, walking over to the dresser. He started opening drawers, while Sam went over to the night stand.  
"Sam, look at this," Dean called. Sam walked over peeking down into the drawer Dean was looking into. There were three knives inside, a gold knife, a black knife, and a silver knife inside, all sporting intricate symbols on their blades. They were resting on a pile of rags. Sam picked up the silver one, looking it over.  
"What do you make of that?" Dean asked.  
"It looks familiar. I've seen it before somewhere, but I just can't remember where exactly," Sam said.  
"Don't move," someone said from the bathroom hall. They froze, turning to see a girl, who looked around 14 years old. She had bushy dark blonde hair, and hazel eyes that were almost green. And she was holding a gun, aiming it at Sam.  
"Whoa, careful with that honey," Dean said, taking a step towards her.  
She turned it on him. "One more step and I will shoot you in the nads," she said threateningly. He held his hands up, taking a step back.  
"Okay. No need to get violent or anything," he said.  
"Put the knife down, slowly, and then close the drawer," she told Sam. "And both of you, drop the stakes." They did as she said, and Sam mirrored Deans actions, putting his hands up over his head.  
"How did you find me?" she demanded.  
Sam looked at Dean, and then back at the girl. "Ahh... we uh..."  
"I think there's been a misunderstanding," Dean said, backing towards the door. "You see, we were just about to leave, so..."  
"Shut up, and stop moving, or I will shoot your ass," she said. "This is the last warning you're going to get before I start putting holes in you."  
He stopped moving.  
"Look, we don't want any trouble," Sam started.  
"Well it's a bit late for that now," she said. "Take your clothes off. And don't try anything," she said. They hesitated.  
"Do it!" she yelled. They did, tossing them in a heap in the corner.  
"Uck, please leave those on," she said when they got to their underwear. They stopped, left standing in their socks and boxer shorts. The various weapons they'd been hiding were piled next to their clothes.  
She took a step forward, keeping her eyes and her gun pointed at the two brothers, and leaned down, grabbing a length of rope from under the bed. She straightened, and tossed it to Dean, who caught it. She nodded at the chair.  
"Tie him down. And do it right," she said.  
Dean cleared his throat. "Look, aren't you a bit young for this kind of stuff? I mean, tying naked men into chairs? Or even being anywhere near naked men for that matter," he said.  
"Youth is a state of mind," she replied. "Tie him down, now," she said, pointing at Sam. Dean looked at Sam, and Sam exhaled loudly, sitting down in the chair resignedly. Dean tied him in, before turning back to the girl, who had moved close to the dresser. She opened a a drawer, pulling out more rope. She nodded to a spot on the floor, a good ways away from the chair.  
"Sit down." He did, and she tossed him the rope. "Tie your feet together," she said. He did, watching her the whole time. When he was done, she stared at him for a moment, seeming uncertain. Dean seemed to realize her dilemma, and chuckled.  
"You know, a guy tying his hands together is the kind of thing I would pay to see," he said.  
"I could always just shoot you," the girl said.  
"You're not gonna shoot me sweetheart," he said.  
She stared at him for a moment, before firing the gun. Dean yelled out in pain.  
"You shot him!" Sam yelled.  
"He'll live. Keep your mouths shut, and it won't happen again," she said. She looked at them, seeming satisfied, before walking out the door.  
"Dean? Are you okay?" Sam asked.  
"I'm fine," Dean replied through gritted teeth, one hand clamped over his shoulder, trying to staunch the bleeding. Sam pulled against the ropes.  
"Can you get over here and let me out?" he asked. Dean was already scooting towards him, while trying to keep pressure on the gunshot. He only got halfway to Sam before the door opened back up, and the girl walked in, holding a pair of handcuffs. She looked at Dean, in the middle of the floor, and tossed the cuffs to him.  
"Put your hands behind your back, and put them on," she said. He twisted his arms around behind him, groaning in pain, and struggling with them for a bit, before he got them on. The gunshot wound bled freely now, and the position he was in wasn't helping any. She walked over to Sam, pulling on the ropes, seeming satisfied with them, before gripping Dean under his arms, and pulling him back into the corner. She walked over to the pile of clothes, and digging through their pockets.  
"So, do you have a name, or should I just call you crazy?" Dean asked.  
"You already know my name," she said, pulling out one if his ids. "Don't play dumb with me Mr... Santiago?" she frowned, fishing through his pockets again, until she pulled out another, and then another of his fake ids. She smiled, holding them up, before standing, and dropping them on the floor.  
"So... she did send you after me," she said, walking over to the dresser and opening the drawer with the knives, pulling out the silver one and walking over to Dean. She put the blade up to his throat, and he swallowed. She looked at Sam.  
"I'm guessing that you two are related somehow. That's how she works isn't it? So what are you? Brothers? Lovers? Father and Son?"  
"Girl, you are messed up in the head. Did your mama drop you or something?" Dean asked. She pressed on the blade more firmly to his skin, and a drop of blood trickled down from his neck, leaving a thin trail all the way down his chest.  
"You're going to tell me everything I want to know," she told Sam. "Or I'll gut this one slowly while you watch. And you," she addressed Dean. "You keep your mouth shut unless I'm talking to you."  
"Alright," Sam said placatingly. "Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you."  
"Your names. Your real, names," she said.  
"My name is Sam Winchester. That's my brother, Dean. And you have to believe me, we have no idea how we got here, or who you are, or what you're talking about."  
She straightened when she heard their last name, taking the knife off Dean's throat. "Winchester? Are you bozos related to John Winchester by any chance?" she asked. Her tone changed from threatening to inquisitive.  
Sam looked at Dean, who raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, he's our father," Sam said.  
"Really? I didn't know he had kids," she said. "In any case, where is the bastard? I've been looking everywhere for him," she said.  
Sam stopped, unsure of what he was supposed to say.  
"He's dead," Dean said for him.  
"I'm sorry. What got him?" she asked, sitting down on the bed.  
"A... demon," Sam said. It was true enough. His father had made the deal for Deans soul with a demon.  
"That sucks. He owes me two hundred bucks," she said.  
"Gee, you're the sensitive, consoling type," Dean muttered. She ignored him, and walked over to where they'd dropped the stakes on the floor, and picked one of them up, examining it.  
"So, you're hunters," she said.  
"Yeah," Sam said.  
She looked at them, and snorted in derision. "No offense, but you guys suck if you can get tied up this easily by a 14 year old."  
"Hey, you had a gun on us," Dean protested.  
"So? I've had guns on me. I've always gotten away," she said.  
"Right. You know, I would love to sit around all day and trade war stories, but it's cold in here and I'm bleeding, maybe if you could untie us, and direct us to the nearest drugstore-"  
"Oh shut up," she cut Dean off, sitting down on the bed. "I'll fix your arm, fine, but you idiots aren't going anywhere."  
"Uhh... why not?" Sam asked.  
"One reason, and one reason only. Your Dad owed me two hundred bucks, like I said. Since he's not around to pay it off, you guys are going to have to," she said. Sam and Dean looked at each other.  
"Okay, two problems," Dean started. "First of all, we're working a case, and the thing we're hunting is pretty dangerous."  
She held up the stake. "Let me guess, trickster?" she asked.  
"Yeah," Sam said.  
"I've killed two of them in my time," she said.  
"You're a hunter?" Dean asked.  
"Of sorts," she said. "In any case, I'm probably better than the two of you combined."  
"I don't think-"  
"Well," Sam interrupted Dean, "we'd really like to pay back our Dad's debt, but as Dean said, we're working a job, and we don't have two hundred dollars between the two of us," he said.  
"That's too bad," she said. "Because I always collect on my debts. Always. And you see, I have a quick, easy way for you to pay this back, without dropping a penny. Between the two of you," she said.  
"Ahh. See, that sounds real interesting, but maybe some other-"  
"Or," she said loudly, cutting Dean off. She walked back over to him, running the blade of the knife along his jaw. "I could carve some pretty pictures into Dean heres skin."  
"We don't respond too well to bloody threats from little girls," Dean said.  
"What do you want us to do?" Sam asked.  
"I need you to kill something for me," she said.  
"Are you both ignoring me?" Dean demanded.  
"Just sit there and be quiet like a good little boy while your brother and I do business," the girl said.  
"What do you want us to kill?" Sam amended his question.  
"Not us. Just you. I'll be keeping Dean here with me for safekeeping," she said.  
"You mean you'll be holding me hostage to make sure Sam doesn't cut and run," Dean said.  
"Yeah, you could put it like that too," she said.  
"Why don't you let me go kill this thing, and keep Sam here?" Dean asked.  
"Because it looks to me like Sam is going to be more inclined to just kill it, and less inclined to try to come back here and kill me. And also, you're wounded," she said.  
"And who's fault is that?" Dean asked.  
"It's your fault for being a smartass," she replied. "You're still being a smartass, and you'd better cut it out, or I will." The knife caught the light from the bathroom, and he couldn't help shuddering slightly.  
"Alright, can we stop arguing, and just get this done?" Sam asked. "What is it you want me to kill?"  
"See what I mean? Cooperative," she told Dean, before turning to Sam. "A demon. It's been on my ass for a few weeks now."  
"You want him to kill a demon? That would be a neat trick," Dean said.  
"All you have to do is shoot it. It's locked inside it's host, and their lives have been tied together. If one goes out, so does the other," she said.  
"Why do you want it dead so badly?" Sam asked.  
"That's my business. I just want it gone," she said.  
"If you're such a great hunter, why don't you go do it yourself?" Dean asked.  
"That's also my business," she said.  
"Okay, if I kill it, you'll let me and Dean go?" Sam asked.  
"Not only will I let you go, your family will be debt free in my eyes," she said.  
"Whoop dee doo," Dean muttered.  
"Fine then, I'll kill it," Sam said.  
She smiled. "Good." She took her gun out of her waistband, and pointed it at Dean, bringing the knife over to Sam. "I'm going to let you out. If you try anything, I'll shoot him before you can lay a finger on me," she said. She slashed the ropes on his right arm, and then stepped back, letting him get himself out from there. He stood, and she trained the gun on him, nodding towards the pile of clothes. "Get dressed. She's in a super eight motel about ten miles south of here," she told him.  
"Can I have a gun?" he asked.  
"Are you going to shoot me?" she asked.  
"No," he said.  
"Look me in the eyes, and promise me that you aren't going to shoot me if I give you one of my guns," she said.  
"I'm not going to shoot you if you give me a gun," he said, looking her in the eyes. She nodded, seeming satisfied, and walked over to Dean, pressing the blade to his throat again, and sliding the gun across the floor to Sam.  
"Room 218," she said. "Now get out of here."  
Sam looked back at them, before walking out the door, closing it behind him. The girl got up and locked it behind him, peeking out the curtains, before closing them all the way.  
"Now what?" Dean asked.  
"Now we wait for your brother to get back," she said. She eyed his wound. "I guess I'll patch you up while we wait."  
"You haven't got any hard liquor lying around by any chance, do you?" Dean asked.  
"I do, actually, but I don't intend to waste it on you," she said.  
"That's cruel," he said.  
"Don't worry. You'll be just fine." She gripped him under the arms again, and he bit his lip to keep from groaning in pain. She moved him next to the chair, facing towards the window, and then disappeared behind him. He could hear her going through drawers.  
"So, do you have a name?" he asked.  
"Alice," she replied from in the bathroom. He was surprised that she was telling him, but wasn't going to complain.  
"Alice what?" he asked.  
"Just Alice," she replied.  
"How'd that come about?" he asked.  
"I got divorced. How do you think smartass? My last name sucked, so I dropped it," she said.  
"Ouch, sore topic," Dean said, sensing that he'd stumbled upon something of interest.  
"Whatever. It isn't important. What's important to me is that your brother is out there right now, solving my biggest problem," she said, from directly behind him. "And everything else, I can handle."  
He was about to respond, but suddenly his neck was in the crook of her elbow, being held against her, and there was a rag over his nose and mouth. He smell something sweet, so sweet it made him want to throw up. He held his breath, and struggled against her hold, not recognising whatever it was, he wasn't too keen to find out what it did. "Stop moving, or I'm going to make you," she warned. He almost wrenched himself from her grasp, but he needed to breath. He tried not to, but he had to breathe. As soon as he took a breath, he started to feel numb. She slipped a thick rubber band over the rag, and stepped back, looking down at him. He slumped to the floor, fighting unconsciousness, trying to lift his hands to get the rag off his face, but unable to lift his arms.  
"It's nothing harmful. Don't fight it. It's going to make it easier for me to fix your arm," she said.  
He had no intention of not fighting, but despite his efforts, his eyelids slid shut, and he slipped into the darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

Dean jerked upright, screaming at a horrible searing pain in his shoulder, but his shouts were muffled by a gag in his mouth.  
"Quiet, and let me get the exit wound," Alice said. He was tied into the chair, his pants and shoes back on, though his shirt was still off. She was holding the knife gold knife, and it was so hot it was glowing almost white. She was trying to get him to lean forward away from the back of the chair. He realized what she was doing, and leaned forward, biting down on the rag hard and groaning in pain as she pressed the knife against the exit wound on the back of his shoulder. Then it was over, and he was left with a painfully throbbing, though no longer bleeding shoulder. She untied the rag from around his head, taking the gag off. She held a plastic cup of water up to his lips, and he drank deeply from it, feeling like he could die of thirst. It was, no doubt, a side effect of whatever anesthetic she'd used. He drained it, and she took it away, setting it down on the nightstand, putting the gold knife carefully back into the dresser, and pulling the silver one out, and then plopping herself down on the bed, holding the remote control to the TV in one hand, and a gun in the other. She set the knife down on the nightstand, and started flicking through the channels.  
"How'd you get that knife hot enough to cauterize a wound?" Dean asked. "Because I know from experience that Bic lighters won't do that."  
"Well your lighter must suck ass," she said. "How'd you do it?" he asked.  
She turned to look at him, annoyed. "If you're just going to sit there running your mouth, I'm shoving a sock in your mouth," she said.

"Right," he muttered. They sat in silence for a while after that, and Alice seemed perfectly comfortable with it. Dean took the time to look around as much as he could from where he was sitting, but there wasn't a whole lot to see. The room was very neat. His jacket had been hung up, and she'd folded his shirt and put it on the dresser. The bed was perfectly made, there wasn't any garbage anywhere, including in the garbage can, which he thought was odd. Teenagers generally tended to trash motel rooms. He puzzled over it, until he had to ask her about it.  
"Look, I really don't want a sock in my mouth, but have you got OCD or something?" he asked, gesturing around the room.  
"Have you ever heard of an OCD case with their boots on the bed?" she shot back. "No. I just like to cover up my tracks. When I leave a place, I leave it exactly as I found it."  
"How old are you exactly?" he asked. She stared at him for a moment, considering, before shrugging. "What the hell. I turned fourteen 5 days ago," she said.  
"Where are you parents?" he asked.  
"Don't have any," she said.  
"Legal guardian?" he asked.  
"Dead," she replied.  
He thought about asking her if she'd killed them, but decided it would be ill advised.  
"And uh, how long have you been hunting?" he asked.  
"My grandma used to take me along with her when she went hunting," Alice said. "She would let me toss holy water on the demons she caught, and draw the devils traps to snare them. When I was three, she let me read the Sancta Missa for her, so that was my first exorcism."  
"When you were three?" he asked.  
"Well, it was July eighteenth, 1995, so I was technically three years and five months," she said.  
"Because the five months makes a huge difference," Dean said. "That's ridi-" He stopped suddenly, realizing what year she'd said. "Wait, 1995?" he asked.  
"That's what I said," she said.  
"It's 2005 now, you can't be fourteen," Dean said.  
"Um, nope. Try 1992," Alice said.  
"That's impossible," he said. "Wait, I thought you said-" now hopelessly confused, he fell silent.  
She sighed, and opened the nightstand drawer, pulling out a newspaper. She got up off the bed, and held it out for him to see. It was dated December 4th, 1992. He looked up at her, eyes wide.  
"You say you were hunting a trickster?" Alice asked, folding the newspaper up, and sticking it back in the drawer before sitting on the bed. Dean nodded silently.  
"It sounds like it dropped you through a wormhole," she said, starting flicking through the channels again.  
"And you uh, you know that how?" he asked.  
"It's an educated guess," she said. "And it's a pretty good one, because for one thing, there aren't too many forces out there that know about wormholes, and there are even fewer who can use them. In fact, you would have to be a god to do it. Which tricksters are. So, there you have it."  
Dean let his breath out, staring straight at the wall ahead of him, and trying to figure out where to go from here.

* * *

Sam walked into the hotel office, and up to the desk.

"Hi, I'm staying in room 218, and I dropped my room key down a gutter," he told the clerk. "I was wondering if you had a spare, or someway you could let me in?" he asked.  
"Could I see some ID please?" the man asked despondently.  
"Uh... My wallet's in my room," Sam said.  
"Okay, whatever," the man said. He walked over to a back rack, and pulled off a room keycard, handing it to Sam. Sam nodded, hardly believing it had worked.  
"Thanks," he said.  
"Okay, whatever," the man said, going back to what he'd been doing before Sam had walked in, staring blankly at the opposite wall. Sam walked out of the office, and around to the other side of the motel, finding room 218. He smiled at an old man that went past, waiting until he turned the corner to bring his gun out, sliding the key through the lock, and turning it slowly. He swung the door open quickly, and stepped into a dark, seemingly empty room. He left the door cracked open, and stepped into the room cautiously. "So, she's playing too now, huh?" came a woman's voice from behind him. He whirled around, pointing the gun at a figure in the shadows behind the door. He fired, the gunshot sounding much too loud.  
"Ouch," the demon said, stepping into the light coming in from the window. She was tall, and blonde, and strikingly familiar. Sam's mouth fell open as he recognized her.  
"Ruby?" he asked. The smile dropped off her face.  
"How do you know my name?" she demanded.  
"Ruby, it's me, Sam. What the hell is going on?" he asked, lowering the gun. She stared at him.  
"Look kid, you obviously have no idea what you're getting yourself into. Now I don't know how you know my name, nor do I have any idea who you are. Since I'm in a good mood, I'm not going to kill you." She was in front of him suddenly, and she knocked the gun out of his hand, lifting him off the ground by his neck. "But I'm afraid I am going to have to put you out of commission," she said. She tossed him to the side, and he went out the window, landing in the windshield of a parked car, broken glass everywhere. He groaned, getting up as quickly as he could, bruised, but he could tell he wasn't badly hurt. He got off the car, hearing the blare of alarms. Unsurprisingly, Ruby was nowhere to be found. He started limping back in the direction of the girl's motel, now knowing where he'd seen that silver knife before. It was Ruby's mystery knife, the one that could, apparently, kill demons.

* * *

"So. Me and Sam have been... magically zapped back in time?" Dean asked.

"Seriously, you sound like you've never heard of anything like it before," Alice said.  
"Yeah, that might be because I haven't," Dean said.  
"Whatever, spare me the rant about how it's impossible," Alice said.  
"So, how is it that you can be three years old in 1995, and 14 in 1992?" he asked.  
"I've had my fair share of trickster troubles," she said. "So when did John kick it? What year?" she asked. He glared at her, knowing she was trying to change the subject, and not appreciating her method of doing it.  
"Sorry, when did your DAD kick it?" she asked.  
"Has anyone ever told you you're a bitch?" he asked.  
"Yeah, lots of people," she said. "So is it just you and Sam, or do you have any other family?" she asked.  
"Do you want to trade stories?" Dean asked.  
"I wouldn't mind it. I'll tell you all about my family, and you can tell me all about yours," she said.  
"Okay. You first," Dean said.  
"Right. I never knew my parents. My grandmother raised me and my older sister. She's ten years older than me, and she went off to live with Mom's parents after grandma died. I've been on my own ever since," she said. "Your turn."  
"Not so fast. How'd your grandmother die? Don't spare me the details," Dean said.  
"If I tell you what happened to her, I'm going to expect you to give me all the details of your relatives deaths," she warned.  
"Let's do it," he said.  
"She got possessed. I stabbed her. End of story," Alice said.  
"Why not exorcise her?" Dean asked.  
"The demon was too powerful, and my grandmother and I had an agreement, that if anything like that ever happened to one of us, the one left standing would gank the other. She would have done the same for me." She smiled. "The last thing she told me, after the demon left her and she was dying in my arms, was that she was proud of me." She looked back at Dean.  
"So. Your turn."  
"Well... me and Sam, our Mom died when I was four. He was an infant then, so he doesn't remember anything."  
"What got her?" Alice asked.  
"Demon. Anyway, that just left me, Dad and Sam. Since he died it's just the two of us."  
"And your Father? How did he die?" Alice asked.  
Dean looked down, and didn't reply.  
"Come on Winchester. A deal's a deal," she said.  
He snorted. "Yeah, okay. He sold his soul," he said.  
"Why'd he do that? What did he get in return?" Alice asked.  
"Look, if I tell you all the hows and whys, I'm gonna go back and get your hows and whys," he said. She considered, and then turned back to the TV, which she'd stopped on the weather channel. She had a notebook, and every now and then, she would scribble in it, marking possible demonic omens. They sat in silence, but not for too long before someone knocked on the door. Alice sprang off the bed silently, pointing the gun at the door.  
"Who's there?" she called.  
"It's me," Sam's voice came from the other side. Alice walked over to the dresser, and pulled out a drawer silently, taking out a cask. She walked over to the door, and opened the cask first, before she unlocked the door and jerked it open quickly, flinging the contents of the cask, holy water, out at Sam. Sam stepped into the room, dripping, not looking happy.  
"Hey, what happened? It looks like someone threw you through a window," Dean said.  
"Yeah, they did." He turned to Alice. "This demon you want me to kill? I know her," he said.  
"So? Is she dead?" Alice asked.  
"No," Sam said.  
"Who was it Sam?" Dean asked.  
"Ruby," Sam replied.  
"Ruby- The Ruby? The one with the demon killing knife?" Dean asked.  
"Yeah. And remember I said that knife looked familiar?" he asked. Alice backed over to the nightstand, keeping the gun trained on Sam, and picked the knife up, holding it behind her back.  
"It's Rubys knife?" Dean asked.  
"Yeah. Except Ruby didn't seem to know me. So I'd like to know what the hell is going on here," Sam said angrily.  
"Yeah, you might want to sit down," Dean said. "Do you know what the date is today?"  
"August 28th," Sam said.  
"Nope. It's December 4th. 1992," Dean said.  
Sam stared at him for a second, before he sat heavily on the bed. "The trickster. He must have dropped us into a wormhole," he said.  
"That's what I said happened," Alice said.  
"Right, so how do we get back?" Dean asked.  
"I have no idea," Sam said.  
"Hey, neither of you are going anywhere until you kill that demon," Alice said.  
"Her name's Ruby," Sam put in.  
"Does it matter? She has to die," Alice said.  
"Well apparently, she isn't supposed to, because fifteen some odd years from now, she saves my ass, with that knife you're holding," Sam said.  
"The only way anyone could get this knife away from me is by prying it away from my cold dead body," Alice said.  
"But this has nothing to do with us. Our Dad's still alive now, so find him and get him to pay you back the two hundred bucks," Dean said.  
"It has everything to do with you now. You're stuck here, and I'm one of the only people on the planet with the know how and the resources to get you back to where you belong," she said. "So, Winchester, I think it would be in your best interest to make absolutely certain that I stay alive long enough to tell you."  
Sam stood, turning to her. "Tell us, now," he said, his voice low and threatening.  
"Sam, watch it, because she will shoot you," Dean warned.  
Alice cocked the gun, punctuating his words. "Look, all you need to do is kill this demon, and I'll not only tell you how to get back home, I'll send you on your way myself," she said.  
"And if we say no? We can probably find out how to get back ourselves," Sam said.  
"Then I'll kill both of you, since you'll be of no more use to me," Alice said.  
"Right. Shooting a person is one thing, killing them is entirely another," Sam said.  
"You're right. It's a bitch covering up after yourself when there are bodies involved. But I've gotten a bit more proficient at it over the years," Alice said.  
"Sammy, back off," Dean said warningly.  
"You aren't going to kill me," Sam said.  
"Not unless you give me reason too," Alice said.  
Sam pulled the gun she'd given him out, and pointed it at her. "You aren't going to shoot me," he said.  
"And you can't shoot me," Alice said. She swung her gun around to aim at Dean. "I'm about to blow your brother's brains all over the wall. Shoot me," she said.  
"Sam, just put the gun down," Dean said.  
"Shut up Dean!" Sam yelled.  
"Butt out Winchester," Alice said at the same time. "Shoot me if you can," she told Sam. He glared at her, and clutched the gun more tightly, his finger hovering over the trigger.  
"Do it!" she yelled. He growled in frustration, and lowered the gun, stepping back. Alice smirked, lowering her gun.  
"If you're going to be doing business with me, you need to know that you can't break a promise to me," she said.  
"What are you?" Sam asked.  
"I'm human. I'm a hunter. And to you, I'm going to be that mystery that you can never quite solve," she said.  
There was a tense silence, though Alice looked perfectly at ease.  
"Her name's Alice, if it makes anything any less mysterious," Dean said.  
"So, where do we go from here?" Sam asked, sitting on the bed. Alice walked over to lean against the wall, taking the knife with her, and keeping the gun in hand.  
"First off, you two are both going to promise me that you aren't going to kill, seriously injure, maim me in any way, or render me unconscious unless I specifically tell you to do so," she said.  
"Unless you specifically tell us to?" Sam asked. "Why is that in there?"  
"That's my business," Alice said. "Promise me."  
"I promise I'm not going to kill, seriously injure, maim, or render you unconscious unless you specifically tell me to do so," Sam recited. Alice turned her gaze to Dean.  
"Hey, I don't know if I can remember all that," he said.  
"Fine. You can stay right where you are until all this is over," Alice said.  
His face fell. "Fine," he said. He repeated what Sam had said, and she walked over, cutting the ropes holding him, and stepping back as Dean stood. There was a moment of tense silence, Alice's eyes darting between the two of them. Dean sighed after a minute, and sat down on the bed next to Sam.  
"Okay. Can we at least have a back story between you and this demon?" Dean asked.  
"No," Alice said shortly.  
Sam stood. "You give us some answers, and maybe a reason to do this, or we leave," he said.  
"You can't," Alice said.  
"Why not? I don't remember anything about staying in that promise we just made you," Sam said.  
"Because you need me to get home," Alice said, looking up at the obscenely tall man without any sign of hesitance or doubt.  
"We can find out from someone else," Sam said.  
"Good luck. Bottom line is, Winchester, I know more about these sons of bitches than anybody else. I'm the only one who's been dropped through one of their little time holes, and made it anywhere close to back where I came from alive," she said.  
"Wait, anywhere close to?" Dean asked.  
"You got dropped through a portal? When were you from originally?" Sam asked.  
"That's about as much your business as why I want this demon dead," she said.  
"Then I guess we're at an impasse," Sam said.  
"A what?" Dean asked.  
Alice raised her eyebrows. "Well, I guess it's apparent who's the brains in your little outfit," she said.  
"Hey," Dean protested.  
"Look, we just want to get home," Sam said. Alice snorted in amusement at the look on his face, turning away from him and walking over to sit on the chair she'd had Dean tied up in.  
"I just want to make sure I have a home to get back to," she said steadily. "So puppy dog eyes aren't going to work on me." She pointed at the bed. "Sit down boy."  
Sam stared at her for a moment, before sitting, looking confused.  
"Since you failed to kill her, that means that she knows that I know where she is. So she'll head back to base, report to the higher authority here," she said.  
"Who's the higher authority?" Dean asked.  
"Demon by the name of Grinda. Nasty bitch. In any case, all this excitement has made me a bit peckish, so I suggest that we go out and get something to eat, and then head over to the motel to see what we can see." She stood, grabbing a bag out from under the bed. She gathered the knives out of the drawer, carefully wrapping each one, though she kept the silver one out, and putting them in the bag. She looked at Sam and Dean, who were still sitting on the bed.  
"Are you coming, or are you going to try to find out how to get home by yourselves?" she asked. She walked out the door. They sat for a few seconds, before Dean sighed, and stood, walking out after her. Sam followed, and it was safe to say that he was less than happy with this turn of events.


	3. Chapter 3

They followed her out, expecting her to head into the motel office, but she kept on walking past it.  
"You're not going to pay for the room," Sam said.  
"Nope," she said flatly, not looking back. They came to a diner, and she turned to them. "You're paying," she said, walking into the diner. They followed her in, and she walked all the way to the back of the restaurant, picking at a table that was right next to the fire exit. They sat, and she held the bag on her lap, her eyes darting here and there. "So what's your plan past checking out the motel to see if we can find out where the base is?" Sam asked.  
"Oh, I already know where the base is," Alice said. She plastered a smile on her face as the waitress walked over. "I'll have a chichen sandwhich and fries, with a coke," she said, looking at Sam and Dean.  
"I'll have a cheeseburger, and a beer," Dean said.  
"Uh, same for me," Sam said. The waitress walked away, and he looked at Alice. "If you know where the base is, why are we going back to the motel?" he asked.  
"That's my business," Alice said.  
"That's the story of your life, isn't it?" Dean asked.  
"Everyone's got something that's just their business and no one elses. I just happen to have more than most people," Alice said. The waitress came back with their food, and they ate in silence. When they were finished, Dean got up to pay, and Sam and Alice followed him up to the counter.  
"Meet me at the motel the demon was staying in," Alice said abruptly, before turning and walking out the door ahead of them. Dean and Sam stared after her through the windows as she jogged down the sidewalk. Dean paid, and they walked out. Alice was nowhere in sight.  
"I hope you remember where that motel is," Dean said.  
"Let's go," Sam said, starting to walk. "So, what are we going to do?" he asked.  
"Kill this demon for her, and get the hell out of dodge," Dean said.  
"Is that really the smart thing to do?" Sam asked. "I mean, if Ruby isn't around in fifteen years to save my ass, I'm dead."  
"We don't know that for sure. And I'm telling you, she must have had some ulterior motive there. I mean, seriously, demons don't just pop in and save hunters from certain death on a whim," Dean said.  
"I think so too, but whatever her reasons are, they involve keeping me alive, and how bad can that possibly turn out?" Sam asked.  
"From where I'm standing? Pretty bad Sam," Dean said. "And it's not like we have a whole lot of choice here. She's offering to send us back, and all we have to do is gank this one broad."  
"But we could probably find out how to get back on our own," Sam said.  
"How long would that take?" Dean asked. "I don't know. But I really, really don't like this situation, anything about it," Sam said.  
"Do you see me dancing for joy? I don't like it either. But does anything really ever happen to us that we like?" he asked.  
Sam didn't respond to that.  
"And besides, the way I see it, this whole thing is your fault," he said.  
"My fault? How's that?" Sam asked.  
"You should have run the bastard through the moment you had him instead of chatting with him," Dean said.  
"Chatting? I was trying to get important information out of him," Sam protested.  
"Yeah sure. Is this the place?" Dean asked as they came to a motel with one of the windows broken out. The man that Sam had seen in the office was sweeping glass off the sidewalk.  
"Yeah. Where's Alice?" Sam asked.  
"I'm sure she'll be here. In the meantime, I'm checking the room out. Distract the broom guy, and I'll go in the window," Dean said.  
"Nah, he knows me. You distract him, I'll go in," Sam said.  
"Right," Dean said. Sam split away from him, ducking behind cars to get behind him.  
"'Scuse me, sir, I seem to have misplaced my dog," Dean said loudly, walking towards the man. He turned, and Sam walked as quickly and quietly as he could behind the man, ducking below broken glass and trying not to impale himself on it as he crept through the window. The room was dark, but there wasn't anything that immediately seemed important. It was clean, the bed neatly made, and the hand towels in place. He tuned out the sound of Dean and the man's voice, and went through the drawers in the dresser as quietly as he could. He was on the last one, when he heard a crash, and the room suddenly lightened. He looked up to see the door lying on the floor, broken in, with Dean on top of it, scrambling to get to his feet. The man who had been sweeping was standing over him, his eyes black. Dean backed into the room, clutching his shoulder, which was throbbing painfully. The demon stepped into the room, and Sam pulled out the gun Alice had given him, firing it at the demon, who dodged to the side quickly, running at Sam and swatting him to the side, knocking the gun out of his hand and sending him flying to hit the wall. He crumpled to the ground in a heap, and the demon turned to Dean, who barely ducked to avoid the blow that would have sent him flying back outside. He threw a punch, connecting with the demons jaw, and heard a satisfying crunch. It grabbed ahold of him, pushing him back so hard that the drywall cracked. Fazed, Dean stumbled, and it rushed at him, wrapping a hand around his neck. Dean clawed at him, struggling to get away, but the demon was too strong.  
It cried out suddenly, dropping him as it arched it's back, howling in agony as an orange light, so bright that it was visible through the human vessels skin showed, before blinking out suddenly. The demon went silent, and fell to the ground, revealing Alice standing behind it, holding a brown paper bag. She bent down, pulling the silver knife out of it's back, and wiping the blade off on it's shirt. She grabbed Dean's hand, helping him to his feet.  
"Good job. You drew him out for me," she asked.  
He groaned in response, and she turned to where Sam was getting to his feet. Alice shook her head, walking over to the bed and inspecting the pillows.  
"Did either of you find anything lying around like a food wrapper, or anything?" she asked.  
"No, the maids beat us to it," Dean said. "What do you mean we drew him out for you?"  
"She knew they'd be watching the place," Sam said. "She used us as bait."  
"Oh, great. You do know we could have been killed?" Dean asked.  
"Better you than me," she said, going into the bathroom and checking the towels. She walked out, looking let down.  
"Nope, she cleaned up after herself pretty well," she said. "Come one. The cops'll be crawling all over this place for sure now." She started out, and they limped out after her.  
"Hey! I think we need to get something straight," Dean said when he caught up with her. "We, are hunters, just like you. And hunters don't let others hunters be bait!"  
"Oh please. The difference between you and me is that your whole life is hunting. I do it a hobby," Alice said.  
"A hobby?" Sam asked.  
"You seemed pretty enthusiastic about marking down those omens back there," Dean said.  
"And a bird-watcher is pretty enthusiastic about marking down whatever bird-watchers mark down about birds," she said.  
"You said that your grandmother's been taking you hunting since you were a baby. That doesn't sound like something someone would do if it were just their hobby," Dean said.  
"I said it was my hobby, that doesn't say anything for my grandmother," Alice said.  
"Well if you can't respect us as fellow hunters, how about as human beings?" Sam asked.  
"Not a chance. Human beings are scum," she said.  
"Right, I don't care if you respect us or not, next time let us know what's going on, so we don't think we're going to die," Dean said.  
"I may or may not, depending on the circumstance," she said. Dean shook his head, but figured that was the best he would get out of her, so he shot Sam a look when he started to protest, and Sam kept quiet. "So, where are the Demon headquarters?" Dean asked.  
"In an abandoned factory off the highway about 300 miles from here," she said.  
"Great. You wouldn't happen to have a car, would you?" Dean asked. He noticed that they were heading in the direction of the highway.  
"Nope. We're hitchhiking," Alice said.  
"Didn't anyone ever teach you that hitchking's dangerous?" Dean asked.  
"I learned it the hard way," Alice said. "But it's the best way I have to travel, and the few dumbasses who did try anything dodgy with me didn't live to tell the tale."  
"Alright. And what if we can't find someone willing to take two men and a teenager?" Dean asked.  
"We walk," she said simply.  
"I'm liking this plan more and more," Dean muttered. Alice smiled, and handed him the bag.  
"I bought provisions, help yourself but save at least two for me," she said. He peeked in, and tilted the bag so Sam could see in. There were six small bottles of whiskey inside.  
"Where'd you get these?" Sam asked.  
"I bought them," Alice said.  
"You're fourteen," he pointed out.  
She dug around in her pocket, and pulled out a fake ID. "As far as the man selling them was concerned, I was 22."  
"You don't look anything close to 22," Sam said.  
"Didn't matter. He made money, I got my treats," she said.  
Sam just shook his head.

A few hours later, they caught a ride on a family's van, which was surprising. The whiskey remained untouched, since Alice thought that they would have better luck catching a ride if they weren't drunk.  
The family thought it was a bit odd when they asked to be dropped off in the middle of the highway, but they didn't ask any questions. They'd stowed the paper bag in Alice's larger bag during the ride, and she unzipped the bag now, pulling out a bottle, opening it and taking a swig, looking at the abandoned factory that was maybe half a mile away from them. She offered it to Sam, who shook his head. Dean reached over though, and took the bottle from her.  
"Don't mind if I do," he said.  
"What happened to no drinking on the job?" Sam asked.  
"Special circumstances," Dean said. "Have you got a plan Alice?" he asked.  
"Since when are we on first name terms, Winchester?" she asked.  
"Since you didn't give me a last name," he said. He handed the bottle back to her.  
"So? Plan?" Sam asked.  
"They'll be expecting me. I'll go knock on the front door, and you two find another way in," she said.  
"That's the plan?" Sam asked.  
"That plan sucks... something," Dean said.  
"I'd say it sucks camel balls. So if anyone else has a better one, speak now or forever hold your peace," Alice said. She took a large gulp of the whiskey, wincing as it went down.  
There was a moment of silence, and she nodded. "That's what I thought." She unzipped her bag, and pulled out the knives. She handed Dean the silver one. "You already know this one kills demons," she said. She handed Sam the black one. The material appeared to be basalt. "That one won't kill a demon, but it'll cause them so much pain that they'll go smoking out if you so much as nick them with it." Sam examined the knife, and Alice knelt on the ground, dug a shallow hole, and put the gold knife in. She covered it over, and drove a stick into the ground to mark the spot, before standing.  
"Do not lose those knives, or I will skin you both, alive," she threatened. She turned, and started walking, and they followed. "Now once you're inside, find me. They aren't going to kill me right away. Most probably, they'll be torturing me, so follow the screams."  
"Awesome," Dean muttered. She pointed to her side.  
"Take the long way around, and whatever you do, don't let them see you. Good luck," she said. She put the whiskey bottle to her lips, and took one long, continuous drink, downing almost half of it, before handing it to Dean.  
"Don't let that go to waste," she said, jogging towards the factory. Dean held the bottle up and looked at it, then looked after Alice, before turning to Sam.  
"You know, if she were a little older, I'd be hitting on her so hard," he said, taking a drink from the bottle before putting it in his pocket.


	4. Chapter 4

Alice took a deep breath, steeling herself, and pushed the door. It swung open easily, and she thought that they probably had the front door covered by more demons that she wanted to think about. She stepped into a large empty room, and could feel eyes watching her. She realized that she still wasn't quite as drunk as she would like to be if she was really going to do this. She also knew she couldn't get too drunk, or escape would be complicated. She took out another bottle, and let the top drop to the floor, the small noise echoing eerily in the space that was all too empty. She took a deep drink from it, hearing soft footsteps behind her. She didn't react, just lowered the bottle, and continued to stare ahead.  
"Alice," a voice came from behind her. A voice she'd heard so many times before in her life. But this wasn't her big sister. Not anymore.  
"Bitch," she said, her tone cordial. She turned, seeing her sisters body. Exactly the same as if it had been any other, regular day. Except that her eyes were pitch black.  
"Ouch, it still bites," the demon said. "I thought you would drop the attitude. You know. After what happened to Grandma." She laughed, and Alice took another swig from the bottle.  
"Out of curiousity, who was that man you sent after me earlier?" she asked.  
"Why didn't you ask him while he was still breathing?" Alice retorted.  
"You killed him? Gods you're cruel. How'd you get him to do it in the first place?" she asked.  
"He owed me a favour," Alice said. "And he brought me back an interesting little bit of information."  
"Did he now?" she asked.  
"Yes he did... Ruby," Alice said.  
It was a small thing, barely perceptible, but Alice caught the flinch of surprise.  
"See, it all makes so much more sense to me now that I know who you are," Alice said.  
"Does if make you feel any better about this whole thing?" Ruby asked.  
"Not really. But it gives me something to work with," Alice said.  
"How could that possible help you?" Ruby asked.  
Alice took another long drink. "I know where you're buried," she said.  
"Well then, I guess I'll just have to make sure that you aren't around long enough to do anything that I might not like," Ruby said. She eyed the bottle Alice was holding. "You know what Grannie always said about drinking. You'll ruin your liver at that pace."  
Alice gave her the bird, and took another swig, before she threw the bottle and the remainder of it's contents at Ruby, who swatted it aside before it hit her.  
"Okay then, I agree. There's been too much talk. Let's get to the fun part now," she said.

A demon lay dead outside of a door that had a lock and chain on it. Dean was keeping watch in case any more showed up, while Sam worked on the lock. Both of their heads snapped up as they heard a blood curdling, obviously feminine shriek from inside.

"Hurry it up," Dean whispered at Sam harshly.  
"I'm going as fast as I can. This is a good lock," Sam said. A few seconds passed, and then it popped open. They took the chain off as quickly as they could, and pushed the door open. It took some effort, and was a noisy deal, since it was practically rusted shut, but the screams now echoing throughout the entire building covered it pretty well. They walked into a room filled with pipes, with two doors leading out of it. Dean pointed to Sam, then to the one leading left, and headed for the one going right himself, holding the silver knife ready. The place was cold, and still, and the screams sounded out of place, which was odd, since this was just the kind of place he would expect to either be haunted, or infested with demons. He noticed a leaking pipe, water, which told him they at least had the basics turned on here. He absently wondered if demons paid their bills, or just ate the bill collectors. The hall he was in split off in two different directions, and he ducked against the wall as a demon walked past. He waited, and then kept going straight. He walked for a few feet, before he heard the light padding of footsteps behind him. He turned, bringing the knife down on a demon, who screeched loudly as the orange light shot through it. He heard more footsteps, now running quickly, and men shouting to one another.  
"Son of a bitch," he cursed. He turned, and started running.

Sam was in a room filled with crates. He heard yelling ahead of him, and ducked behind one, waiting. He figured that probably meant that they were chasing Dean. Great. The screams that he assumed were belonged to Alice were getting louder, and he crept closer and closer to them, occasionally flattening himself against a wall to avoid being seen by demons. He finally peeked around a corner, and saw Alice writhing on the ground in the center of a large room. There were demons standing around, watching, and Ruby was glaring at her quite intently. He had no idea what was going on, but it was obviously hurting Alice. His gaze was drawn to another door as he spotted movement. He groaned internally as Dean's limp form was dragged though, and plopped on the ground. Alice stopped screaming as Ruby turned to look at him. Another demon was holding the silver knife, and he walked over, handing it to Ruby. Sam looked around for an obvious solution, but saw none.

"Crap," he said. He took a breath, and stepped out into the room. "Ruby!" he yelled, his voice echoing so that every demon there heard him. He felt about twenty pairs of black eyes trained on him.  
"Oh, so she didn't kill you," she said. She grabbed a fistful of Alices shirt, hauling her to her feet. "What else did you lie to me about?" she asked.  
"No lies. Kick-ass acting though," she said, smiling. She punched the blonde in the face, twisting out of her grip and aiming a kick at her legs, but Ruby retaliated with a swipe of the knife, just the tip connecting, slicing through Alices shirt and leaving a thin horizontal line of blood just below her ribs. She ignored it, glancing to the side briefly to see Sam backed into a corner, swiping at demons with the knife. None of them were getting any closer to him, but he wasn't going anywhere. She saw Dean getting up off the ground, and their eyes met for a moment. She tried to send him a message by looking at him, and hoped that he could figure out what she was going to try to do. She dodged Rubys next blow, trying to get Ruby to face away from Dean. She managed to successfully, and even if Dean hadn't understood her, the course of action to take was obvious. He picked up a pipe, brought it down on Rubys head as hard he could. There was a hollow clang, and Ruby turned on him, looking annoyed, but unfazed.  
"Exorcizamus Te, omnis immundus spiritus," Alice began reciting. Ruby turned to her and swung the knife, and Alice successfully dodged it. Ruby was locked inside her sisters body. The exorcism would have no effect on her. But it was a different story for all the other demons in the room. Alice was too busy dodging to keep praying, but Dean picked up on what she was doing.  
"Omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii," he continued. The demons surrounding Sam had a variety of reactions. Some covered their ears, some tried to run, and some smoked out on the spot. Sam added his voice to Deans, and all Alice had to do now was concentrate on not being gutted.  
"Omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica. Ergo Draco maledicte et omnis legio diabolica, adjuramus te, per Deum vivum," the Winchesters kept on. Alice was forced to block them out as Ruby landed another cut, to her arm this time. The demons who were still in the room who had managed to stay in this long fled suddenly, a great cloud of black swirling above their heads briefly, before it disappeared. Alice saw Dean charging Ruby from the corner of her eye, and it registered with her that he was holding the black knife. Before her brain had time to realize what this meant, he'd buried it up to the hilt in Rubys back. She contorted in pain, though she kept a tight grip on the silver knife, screaming as she reached behind her to try and pull it out.  
"MORONS! RUN!" Alice yelled, running herself down the halls. The two Winchesters followed, neither of them realizing the error they'd just made.

Behind them, Ruby pulled the black knife out of her back with a final shout. She glared at it. Unlike the silver knife, this holy-water doused blade was worthless to her. It only caused demons pain, and since she didn't have the option of smoking out of this body, it wouldn't even exorcise her. She hurled it at the concrete wall as hard as she could, and watched it shatter into a thousand tiny fragments. She held up her prize, the silver knife, admiring the way it gleamed in the light. She smiled, and stepped over the bodies that had been inhabited by demons only minutes before, heading to the factories basement.

Dean and Sam led the way out through the back door they'd gotten open. They ran until they reached the stick that marked where Alice had buried the gold knife. She dug it up quickly, glancing behind several times, though, and then took off running down the highway again, Sam and Dean struggling to keep up with her, having taken a worse beating than she had. They saw the light from a car, and she ran out into the middle of the road, forcing it to stop. There was a man in the car, probably in his mid-thirties.

"Open the door!" she said. He did, and she got in.  
"Are those men chasing you?" he asked blankly of the Winchesters.  
"No, there's something very bad chasing all of us," she said as they piled in. "Turn around and drive the other way, and screw the speed limit," she said. She could feel adrenaline pumping through her, chasing away most of the alcohols effect. That meant she would get a hangover, and very little for it. That sucked big time. The man started driving, and she caught a glimpse of herself in the reflection of the window. She could see why he'd assumed Sam and Dean were chasing her. She was dirty from rolling around on the floor, and the cuts she'd gotten from the knife fight with Ruby were bleeding. Her shirt was practically shredded. The man drove for a while, before he smelled the alcohol on her and Deans breath.  
"Wait, are you drunk?" he asked, slowing the car practically to a stop.  
"Just a bit," she said.  
"How old are you?" he asked Alice. He turned to glare accusingly at the Winchesters. "How old is this kid?"  
"She's old enough," Dean said. "Keep driving."  
"No, I want you out of my car right now," the man said.  
"We don't have time for this. Drive. Now," Alice ordered.  
"No, get out of my car," he said adamantly. Alice brought the knife up quickly, pressing it to his throat.  
"Now you listen to me you jerk," she pressed harder to punctuate 'jerk'. "I've been having a really, really shitty year. My entire family is dead, except for my sister, and she's fucking possessed by a demon, who's hell bent on killing me. I just lost two of the three most important objects in the country, I have promises that I have no choice but to keep, and I'm stuck with these two clowns for lord knows how long. So don't assume that since I'm fourteen I'm naive, or stupid, or disillusioned, or kidnapped," she hissed. She took the knife off the mans throat, though she still brandished it threateningly. "Drive," she ordered. The man, scared out of his wits by now, complied readily.  
"I didn't know it was as bad as all that," Dean said.  
"That isn't even the half of it Winchester," she said.

Ruby stood over Grindas body, a smile on her face, because she was truly free now. She'd been contracted to Grinda, so killing her had been the last step towards her ultimate goal. She had a body(A hot one at that), the third knife, and nothing, nothing to stop her from going after Alice. She stepped over a pool of blood, walking out the door.  
"Let's play hide and go seek now baby sister," she said.

They drove long through the night, and on until around mid-day, until the man was almost passing out in the drivers seat from exhaustion. They were in a town at that point, so Alice made him promise that he wouldn't tell anyone what had happened to him, before she and the Winchesters checked into a hotel.  
"So, do you want to tell us what that was all about back there?" Sam asked her.  
"No," she said, plopping face down on a bed. She'd pick-pocketed the man who'd driven them here, and it had been enough for a room with two beds.

"I'm not sure it's optional. I would really like to know what you meant when you said that the knives were the three most important objects in the country," Sam said.  
"Sam, leave her," Dean said. Alice hadn't been expecting that, and looked at him quizzically. He was sitting in a chair next to a table, pulling his shoes off.  
Sam seemed even more surprised than Alice that Dean was taking her side, and floundered awkwardly for a moment.  
"Someone should go get food. I'm starving. And bring some aspirin. And iced tea," Alice said to break the ice.  
"Right. I'll go," Sam said. No one said anything to counter him, so he left.  
"What was that?" Alice asked.  
"What was what?" Dean asked, moving to flop down on the other bed on his stomach, in the exact same way as she had.  
"You sided with me," she said, shifting slightly to face him. He rolled his shoulders in what might have been a shrug. "Why would you do that?" she asked, puzzled.  
He looked like he was considering his words very carefully. "That back there... you're sister's still in there with that demon. I guess I just..." he shook his head.  
"The last thing I want is pity," she said drily.  
"I'd call it closer to understanding than pity," he said.  
"Hmm. I can live with understanding," she said.  
"What I don't get though, is why were you able to do your grandmother in when she was possessed, and not your sister?" he asked. If it had been anyone else, he wouldn't have dared ask, but he thought that he had a pretty good understanding of Alices character at this point.  
"Right before my grandmother died, she made me promise that I would take care of Allison. My sister," she said.  
"I don't understand what it is with you and promises," Dean said.  
"I told you I killed two tricksters? The first one I made a deal with. Ten years of servitude, and in return, no one could break a promise to me. But he just had to go and be a trickster, and he slipped in that as a drawback, I have to keep all of my promises. Unluckily for him, he just made me promise that I would serve him. I never promised I wouldn't kill him. So I did. The second one came after me for revenge, and knocked me back around 1890 or so. I tracked him down to try and get him to send me back, but he wouldn't so I just killed him instead." She shrugged. "I ended up in 1990, which is a lot closer than I'd hoped."  
"Why are you telling me all this?" he asked.  
"I don't know. I'm probably still a bit drunk. Or maybe I just want to vent," she said.  
"Well, while you're still drunk, or venting, or both, do you want to tell me why this demon's after you?" he asked.  
She didn't say anything for a few minutes, and he thought that she had closed back up, when she spoke. "It's my fault."  
"What happened?" he asked.  
"While I was in 1890, I did some regrettable things to get to the trickster who sent me there. One of them was torturing and killing a Witch to make her tell me how to summon them," she said.  
"Ruby?" Dean asked. Alice nodded.  
"I don't understand, she's a demon," he said.  
"Witches give their souls to a demon to gain their powers. When they die, they go to hell."  
"I know that," he asked, now hopelessly confused.  
"What do you think a demon is Dean? It's just a soul that gives in to hells torments. Ceases to be human, and becomes something so dark that hell rejects it, sending it to walk the earth," Alice said.  
"Huh. That's an interesting theory," Dean said.  
"It's more than a theory. It's a fact," Alice said.  
"How do you know it is?"  
"It's one of many bits of knowledge passed down through my grandmothers side of the family," she said. There was a moment of silence, and Alices expression darkened further. "She possessed my grandmother first. I had to kill her, and then the bitch went smoking out. Bitch."  
There was silence for a moment, before Dean made a few connections. "So the only thing you had for a parent figure died, and made you promise to look after your sibling?" he asked.  
She nodded. "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up," she said.  
He chuckled humorlessly. "Just about the exact same thing happened to me," he said. He had no idea why he was going to tell her. Maybe it was the idea that she could understand. That there were so few people who could. They'd both killed their parents. Maybe he hadn't pulled the trigger to kill his father like she had her grandmother, but he may as well have.  
She raised her eyebrows. "Really? Well, I think you pretty much owe me the story, since I gave you mine," she said.  
"I told you my father sold his soul?" Dean asked. She nodded, already suspecting what he was going to say. "We were in this... accident. And I... I was in pretty bad shape. I was gonna die. So Dad... he went out and sold his soul at the crossroads."  
"In exchange for your life," she said. He nodded, and laughed quietly, sadly to try and fill the silence that he heard coming on. "Before he went, he made me promise to look after Sammy," he said.  
"You're trying to tell me that we're similar to one another," she said.  
He shrugged. "It's something I noticed," he said.  
She regarded him. "Maybe we have some things in common. It doesn't make us similar." She groaned, and covered her head with the pillow. "I hope your brother comes back soon, or you're going to have trouble keeping that promise you made your Dad."  
He laughed softly at that. He didn't really know why. He didn't think it was funny. He didn't know how he felt anymore. Only that he felt different, and that- He didn't even know.  
The only thing he did know, for certain, was that whatever this new feeling was, it would only lead to trouble.

The complete Sancta Missa, as read from the Rituale Romanum:

Exorcizamus te,  
omnis immudus spiritus,  
omnis satanica potentas,  
omnis incursio infernalis advrsarii,  
omnis legio,  
omnis congregatio et secta diabolica.  
Ergo draco maledicte et omnis legio diabolica,  
adjuramus te,  
per Deum vivum,  
per Deum verum,  
per Deum sanctum,  
per Deum qui sic dilexit mundum,  
ut filium suum unigentum daret,  
ut omnis qui credit in eum,  
non pereat,  
seb habeat vitam aeternae.  
Cessa decipere humanas creaturas,  
eisque aeternae perditionis venenum propinare.  
Vade satana,  
inventor et magiser omnis fallaciae,  
hostis humanae salutis.  
Humiliare sub potenti manu Dei,  
contremisce et effuge,  
invocato a nobis sancto et terribili quem inferi tremunt.  
Ab insidiis diaboli,  
libera nos domine.  
Ut ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias libertate sevire te rogamus, audi nos.  
Ut inimicos sanctae ecclesiae humiliare digneris te rogamus, audi nos.  
Terribilis Dues sanctuario suo.  
Dues israhel ipse truderit virtutem et fortitudinem plbi suae.  
Benedictus Dues.  
Gloria a patri.

English translation:

We exorcise thee,  
every impure spirit,  
every satanic power,  
every incursion of the infernal adversary,  
every legion,  
every congregation and diabolical sect.  
Thus, accursed dragon, and every diabolical legion,  
we adjure thee,  
by the living god,  
by the true god,  
by the holy god,  
who so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son,  
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,  
but have eternal life.  
Cease to decieve human creatures,  
and give to them the poison of eternal perdition.  
Begone satan,  
inventor and master of all deceit,  
enemy of mankinds salvation.  
Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God,  
tremble and flee,  
we invoke the holy and terrible name at which those down below tremble.  
From the snares of the devil,  
Lord deliver us.  
In order to secure your church to serve you freely,  
we ask you, hear us.  
So that you may destroy the enemies of your sacred chruch,  
we ask you, hear us.  
God is frightening about his own sacred place.  
The God of israel himself will have thrust excellence and strength to his own people.  
Blessed be God.  
Glory be to the Father.


	5. Chapter 5

There was a knock on the door, and Dean got up, peeking out the peephole to see that it was Sam. He opened the door, and Sam walked in with a bag of Mcdonalds, and a drink holder with three drinks in it. Dean noticed that one was kid sized. And sure enough, he was holding a happy meal.  
"I really hope that's for you," he muttered. Alice was sitting on the bed, and she crossed her arms when she saw what Sam had brought back. He held the happy meal out to her, and she glowered.  
"What's that?" she asked.  
"Food," Sam replied innocently, keeping a straight face. Alice shook her head, and fished the tiny hamburger out of the box. She held it up.  
"Even 14 year olds who haven't spent their entire lives hunting monsters and gods eat more than this," she said.  
"Oops. I never was too good at babysitting," Sam said.  
"If anything, I'm the one babysitting you," she said.  
"Right. And who's plan was it that lost the knives, did not kill Ruby and put me and Dean on their hit list?" he asked.  
"Sammy, are we really gonna do this?" Dean asked.  
"Are you really siding with her?" Sam asked, turning to him. "We don't know who she is, or even what she is. For all we know, she could be another demon, or something just as bad," he said.  
"I kind of doubt that," Dean said.  
"Why?" Sam demanded.  
"I don't know, call it a hunch," Dean said, raising his voice.  
"Okay, both of you, stow it. This is so stupid," she said. She walked over to the table, and grabbed a few of the tiny packets of salt that came with the food. She tore them open, closing her eyes and tossing them in her own face. She spluttered, licking her lips and grimacing, trying to flick the salt out of her eyes before she opened them. "I would go over holy water and silver with you too, but Ruby's got my bag, so unless you two have any on you..." she trailed off, waiting for them. Neither of them said anything, and she nodded, sitting, and picking up the tiny hamburger. "In the future, if you're going to insult me in this fashion at least have the decency to get two happy meals for me. And I want chicken sandwiches," she said, before she bit into her hamburger. They ate in silence for a while, and Alice finished first.  
"I'm hopping in the shower, to wash the salt out of my hair, so if any demons show up, try to hold them off until I can get dressed," she said. She walked into the bathroom and shut the door, leaving the boys staring after her.  
"She's something else," Dean said somewhat absent-mindedly.  
"What?" Sam asked.  
"Nothing. If you wanna catch some sleep, I'll take first watch," Dean said.  
"Nah, you get some sleep," Sam said.  
"I don't need it, I took a nap in the car," Dean said. Sam eyed him suspiciously.  
"Dude, I'm not gonna pass out. Go get some shuteye," Dean insisted. Sam, obviously relieved, kicked his shoes off, leaving them at the foot of the bed, and laid down, pulling the covers up over his head. Dean realized then that they'd lost just about all of their weapons along with Alices bag back at the factory. He was thinking of ways to remedy this, when Alice walked in the front door, dressed in pink pants, and a black shirt that was a size too large. Dean started, but Alice held a finger to her lips, motioning for him to be quiet, and then beckoning him with her finger. He glanced over at Sam, and stood, joining her just outside the door. She closed it softly behind them, before turning to him.  
"Does your brother usually have salt on his fries?" she asked.  
"What?" Dean asked.  
"Sam. Does he put salt on his fries?" she asked.  
"I don't know," Dean said. He frowned. "Are you trying to say something? And where did those clothes come from?" he asked.  
"The laundromat next door," she said. "I noticed two things back there that I'm pretty sure you didn't. First of all, he hasn't looked me sqaure in the eyes since yesterday. Secondly, he didn't use salt on anything. And there were a lot of demons floating around freely back there, out of their meat suits. I think one of them might have gotten to him," Alice said.  
"You think Sam's possessed?" Dean asked.  
"I want to know what you think before any conclusions are drawn," she said.  
"Oh. Well thanks, I'm so glad I get a say in whether or not my brother's possessed," he said sarcastically.  
"Dean," she said warningly.  
"I don't think so Alice. I mean, based on the fact that he hasn't looked you in the eyes? Have you considered that maybe it's because you've got creepy eyes?" he asked.  
She raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest. "Creepy eyes?" she asked.  
"Well... they change color. You honestly don't think that's odd?" he asked defensively.  
She rolled the eyes in question, and turned, walking the other way.  
"Hey, where are you going?" he asked.  
"To get a crucifix, so I can make some holy water, and settle this, because you are no help," she said.  
"I'll come," he said.  
"No, you stay here and watch your brother," she said.  
"You don't have any money," he said.  
"I'll figure something out," she said. "Maybe I'll creep someone out with my creepy eyes and get them to give me five bucks."  
He opend his mouth to protest, but she was already jogging away.  
"That's not fair. You're too young to be playing the guilt card like that," he yelled after her. She gave him the bird over her shoulder before she disappeard around the corner. He opened the door and stepped back into the room, closing the door softly behind him, going back to the chair and sitting. He noticed that the bed was empty, but figured that Sam had gone to the bathroom. This was confirmed when he heard the toilet flushing, and Sam stepped out of the bathroom.  
"What was all that about?" Sam said.  
"What was what about?" Dean asked.  
"I heard you yelling something about guilt," Sam said, looking amused. Dean leaned back in the chair, putting his feet up.  
"Alice. I don't even know what to think about her Sam. I mean, she's fourteen, and I feel like I should be treating her like she's fourteen. But I don't know, she's just... old. I mean, whenever she opens her mouth, it looks wrong because she's got a fourteen year old voice, and it's saying the kinds of things that you just don't imagine a fourteen year old saying."  
Sam plopped down in the chair across from him. "Look, she's a hunter. Like us. She grew up in the life. It's all she's ever known. I mean, if you're looking to make a kid grow up fast, is there a better way to do it?" he asked.  
Dean didn't reply, though the look on his face said that Sam was stating what he already knew.  
"And I mean, think about some of the stuff she's been through," Sam went on. "Having to kill her own grandmother, and not even doing in the demon whose fault it was? And then that demon comes back and takes her sister from her? It's nothing short of tragic."  
Dean was nodding in agreement, when he stopped suddenly. He stood, trying not to move too quickly, walking over to the nightstand.  
"Yeah, I guess," Dean said, wishing he had a gun, or holy water, or something. "Funny thing is though, I just found out about that myself. And uh, you weren't around when she told me," Dean said. He turned in time to see Sam stand.  
"Well... I uh..." he floundered for a moment, before he smiled. "Oops. Guess my big fat mouth got me that time," he said. He blinked, and when he opened his eyes they were black. He took a step towards Dean, and Dean took a step towards the side.  
"You know, your brother has got a lot of interesting thoughts," the demon said.  
"Oh really?" Dean said, stalling, eyes darting around the room, though he didn't know why. What was he going to do if he did have a knife, stab Sam?  
"Oh yes. In fact, most of them are the kind of interesting thoughts that my superiors would be very interested in hearing," the demon said.  
"Why?" Dean asked, now just hoping to keep him talking until Alice could get back, and hoping that she made the holy water before she did come back.  
"2005? That's quite a ways ahead," the demon said. He tapped Sam's head. "And this melon is all full of facts about it. And about the years preceding it."  
"Wow, I didn't know demons liked betting on horse races and... stuff," Dean said.  
The demon took another step towards him with his brothers legs, now practically on top of him.  
"You know I really would love to chat, but I think Alice is going to be back soon. How about you?" he asked. Sam threw his head back, and Dean watched with initial relief, quickly followed by bewilerment, wondering why the demon would smoke out now. These quickly turned to horror as the smoke rushed towards him, and he was thrown back against the wall with the force of it. He slumped to the floor, limp for a moment, before his eyes opened, blackened.

Alice was gone for longer than she planned to be. She found a crucifix easily enough, at a gas station, and pick-pocketed a man, ending up with a hundred and forty dollars, and got a water bottle while she was at the gas station. She ducked into the bathroom, taking her merchandise with her, and blessed the water. Her next stop was a hunting store. The clerk looked from the fake id, to the three silver knives she was buying, to her and then back. She tapped her foot impatiently.  
"I don't know," he said, sounding indecisive.  
"Look, I need these," she said, switching tactics. "It is literally, a matter of life and death."  
"Right. Look, I'm sure you're a great kid and all, but I can't do this. What if someone gets hurt?" He handed her the id back. "Go on. Spend that hundred bucks on a bicycle or something."  
She stared at the outstretched id for a moment, cursing people like this. Good people. God they could be so ignorant. She took the id, and the hundred or so dollars off the counter. But instead of turning to go, she snatched up one of the knives, hopping over the counter quickly, and backing the clerk up against the wall.  
"You're not a bad man. I can see that," she said. "So I'm going to give you a choice. You can let me buy the knives, so I can keep myself alive, or I can cut your throat, and walk out with them."  
He stared at her, holding his hands out. "You're making a mistake. Think about the consequences-"  
"Doesn't matter," she said. "In the end, I'm already damned. One more soul on my head won't change anything."  
She could see that he was scared now, but whether it was from the look of sincerity on her face, the way she held the knife, obviously knowing exactly what she was doing with it, or just the fact that he was cornered with a knife on him, but he was afraid.  
"G-go," he said.  
Reviewing her options quickly, she shifted her grip on the knife, and lashed out with it, landing a blow to the clerks head with the butt of the knife. He crumpled to the floor, unconcious. She probably should have left immediately after that, but she'd lost all of her equipment along with her bag, so she decided to take the opportunity to get more. She took a duffel bag, and her choice of weapons. She preferred knives for the most part. She'd been trained rigorously in hand to hand combat. It was what she was good at. She was also a decent shot, if you were a hunter you had to be, but she didn't like guns too much. They made noise, and they made a mess. And it was easier, at least for her, to land a blow with a knife up close and personal then to stand back while monsters and demons charged at her, and hope that her bullets hit something that hurt.  
She went out the back way, which lead into an alley, but it was preferable to going out the front and attracting attention. She glanced at the watch she was wearing, grimacing when she realized that almost a whole hour had gone by. She quickened her step, trying to go through the streets that were the emptiest, and though it cost her time, she thought that the extra effort was worthwhile to avoid anymore civilians who simply could not grasp the concept of a fourteen year old being allowed weapons. Granted, it was true that most fourteen year olds had no business with silver knives and guns, but she wasn't most fourteen years olds. She took the long way around the laundromat, as she could see a woman raising a fuss inside, and didn't really need that on top of everything else. She finally got to the hotel room, and knocked on the door. Dean answered it, and stepped aside quickly to let her in, closing it after her. The first thing she saw when she walked into the room was Sam, bound and gagged in the middle of the room, in the center of a trap. She raised an eyebrow at Dean, plopping the bag down on the bed.  
"Well. You actually listened to me," she said.  
He was looking at Sam, who was glaring at him intently. "I thought it couldn't hurt," he said.  
"Kay. Here goes," Alice said, popping the cap on the water bottle. She stepped towards Sam, but Dean stopped her with a hand on her arm. "You don't need to," he said.  
"Why not?" Alice asked.  
"I know he's possessed. His eyes showed through," Dean said. Alice regarded him, and noticed that he wasn't meeting her eyes. She nodded, and he took his hand off her arm. She walked around Sam, and she could feel Dean watching her.  
"What I'd like to know though," she said, stopping behind Sam. "Is how exactly you managed to get a demon tied up and into a trap, without any weapons?"  
"I'm just that good," he said.  
"No one's that good," she said. She hurled the water at him, and he screamed as it hit him, steam rolling off him in waves. She dived to the side, unzipping the duffel to pull out a knife, but he knocked into her, taking her down with him. She twisted her elbow around, slamming it into his face as she tried to free herself from his grasp. It didn't do much to help her, and she knew that he was too strong for her to beat in a wrestling match. She slid the knife across the floor in Sams direction, knowing that if she kept it, she would end up being skewered, and at least this way Sam might get his ass out and help her.  
He twisted them, managing to get an arm around her neck, and she choked as he pulled her back against him. She twisted her arms around, clawing at his face, but he pulled harder, and she was struggling for breath now.  
"Ruby's not gonna be happy with me," he said, just loudly enough for her to hear. "She wants to do you in herself. But you know what? Since you're going to hell anyway, she can just pop down and visit you from time to time." Alices struggles were growing weaker as he laughed. She vaguely felt water, and heard someone screaming, and then she could breathe again. She gasped, dragging in air after she'd gone too long without it. Sam, having gotten out of his ties, charged straight at the demon, and both of them were knocked backwards. But while Sam kept going until he hit the wall, the demon rolled to a sudden stop in the center of the trap, scrambling to his feet quickly. Alice got up, shaking her head to clear it. The demon looked from her to Sam, who was leaning agianst the wall, looking worn out.  
"What happened to you?" Alice asked.  
"Oh, nothing. Just I got possessed for a little bit," he replied.  
"So you're fine," she said. She dug in the duffel bag, and tossed him some chalk. "Trap that door, and the window in the bathroom. Salt the perimeter," she said. He walked past her to the door, and she turned to look at the demon, which still refused to meet her eyes.  
"Alright. I just have one question for you. It's kind of been bugging me for a while. Then I'll go ahead and send you back to hell," she said.  
"I'm not answering any of your questions," it said.  
"You don't have a choice," she said. "Let's see if I can remember all of it. (1)Draco maledicte, mes animas innocentes et adulter in nomine Domini, Deus unus verus Deus nomen sanctum sanctorum puris hominibus Deus Israhel vindex est Dominus, præcipio tibi, loqui! Nemo est ore mendacium, sed humilia te in conspectu Dei maiestatem, auctor et dator salutis omnium iustum et innocentem. Mando tibi nunc dicam!"  
Sam stared at her, understanding bits and pieces of what she was saying, but not comprehending what it meant as a whole. As far as he could tell, it wasn't an exorcism. The demon smiled. "Really? That old racket? You know it doesn't work," he said.  
"Really? Because in my experience, it does," she said. "Now I can understand why Ruby wants me. But why is Grinda letting her come after me?"  
"I'll bite this mans tongue off," the demon said.  
"Don't you dare," Sam said, standing. "If you touch a hair on his head I will do so much worse than send you back to hell!"  
"Ooh, I'm scared. What could you possible do?" he asked.  
"Sam, leave this to me," Alice said.  
"It's my brother, Alice," he said.  
"And I know how to handle this. Just make sure we aren't interrupted," she said. He didn't budge, and she sighed. "Sam, I'm not going to hurt him. Satisfied?"  
"Promise," Sam said.  
"I promise I'm not going to hurt your brother," she said. He nodded, and went back to the trap he was drawing. Alice turned away from the demon, picking up the water bottle that had been dropped on the floor, and filling it again from the sink in the bathroom. She dangled the crucifix in the water. This time Sam recognized her words as the blessing to sanctify the holy water.  
"(2)Benedicite aquae Domine creator omnium piissima et vivificantem, Pater dilecte. Irritum quoque sit opus sit malum, A daemonibus viribus Satanae et omnibus, qui volebant delere creaure qui minister et servus tuus. Qui nomine Dei verum Deum, Dei sanctis orando."  
She stood, and Sam brushed past her, heading into the bathroom to draw his traps and lay out the salt. She waited until he closed the door so he could draw the trap, before she took the chair, and jammed it under the door handle, before walking back over to the trap.  
"(3)Loqui!" she commanded.  
"You've lost your touch," he said. "Shame. Maybe God isn't with you anymore."  
"Doesn't matter. I can get it out of you myself," she said.  
"Can you? I seem to recall you just promising to Sammy there that you wouldn't hurt me," he said, smiling smugly.  
"No. I promised I wouldn't hurt his brother. You aren't Dean. You're wearing his body, and I know Dean's still in there somewhere, but he isn't the one driving. So I can do whatever I feel like to you," she said.  
His smile didn't falter. "Good old Alice. Always spotting the loopholes."  
Behind her, Alice heard Sam knock on the bathroom door. "Alice?" he asked. She ignored him, rolling up her sleeves, getting the new shirt out of the way, and also baring the cuts on her arms, three on the sides of each of her arms, about three inches below her elbow. They had obviously been deep cuts when they were fresh, and it looked like they'd healed not too long ago. He tried to hide it, but she saw his eyes linger on them, and the brief flash of fear that he couldn't keep from showing at the reminder of what she was.  
"So. Why is Grinda letting Ruby come after me? I know Grinda. She usually doesn't let her employees go off to take care of personal business," Alice said.  
"Guess you don't know her as well as you thought you did," the demon said.  
Alice flung some of the holy water on him, drawing screams as it soaked his clothing, leaving a layer of wet against him that wouldn't stop burning. She circled him, flinging more at different angles, hearing Sam pounding against the bathroom door. The demon fell to his knees in the circle, and she crouched down at his level. His teeth were clenched, the water in his clothes still burning him. No doubt in serious pain, he met her eyes, glaring at her. She held them, smiling triumphantly. He looked away quickly, but she had what she needed.  
"I've got you now. Sure you don't just want to give up?" she asked.  
"Not a chance," he said.  
She tsked. "I'm sorry then." He spasmed suddenly, hitting the ground, writhing in agony. He was screaming again, a long, continuous scream. The door to the bathroom flew open, Sam having kicked it in, and he burst out.  
"What are you doing to him?" he demanded.  
"Dean's not being hurt," she said.  
The screams grew louder, and Sam turned in time to see three long gashes, identical to Alices, appear on Dean's left arm as if drawn there by an invisible knife. Identical cuts opened on his right. Sam grabbed Aice, shaking her.  
"Stop it!" he yelled. Behind him, the demon stopped screaming, and just laid on the floor, shivering, the cuts on his arms bleeding steadily.  
"Let me go Sam," Alice said.  
"Don't do that again," Sam warned.  
"Or else? It's neccessary, Sam," Alice snapped.  
"No it isn't," he said. "You can use holy water instead of... whatever the hell that was."  
"No. It's not persausive enough," Alice said. "It isn't hurting Dean, I promise. Now let me go," she said.  
He glared at her, but complied, stepping back.  
"She's lying," the demon rasped. He retched, another spasm racking through Deans body. "This hurts Dean just as much, if not more than me."  
"She can't break a promise," Sam said.  
"Yeah right. Do you have any proof of that?" he asked.  
"Only that you seemed pretty damn sure that it was true," Sam said. The demon looked surprised at that.  
"How could you know that?" he asked.  
"I guess that mind reading is two way when you're in my head," he says.  
"You could get info from him?" Alice asked.  
Sam nodded. "Do you know why Grinda is letting Ruby after me?" she asked.  
"No," he replied. The look on his face told her that he did know a lot more than she would like him to though.  
"Oh well. Are you ready to talk yet?" Alice asked the demon.  
"Talk? Sure, I'll talk. Just get in here with me, and we'll do some talking," he said.  
"Or we could start another round," Alice said.  
"You know Sam, your brother's awfully exciteable," he said, ignoring Alice completely.  
"Shut up," Sam said.  
"Last chance," Alice warned.  
"And Alice here... she tickles him in all the right places," he said.  
"I said shut up!" Sam yelled.  
Alice heard a siren outside, and peeked out the curtains, cursing when she saw a police car pulling into the hotel parking lot.  
"Time's up," she said. "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus."  
The demon was already out almost before the first words left her mouth.  
"Someone was eager to leave," Alice mumbled. "Come on, we have to get out of here now," she said. She threw the weapons back in the duffel bag, and slung it over her shoulder while Sam slung his unconscious brother over his shoulder. Alice heard a knock on the door, accompanied by a voice.  
"Police, open up."  
"Shit," she cursed under her breath. "Just a minute, I'm not dressed!" she yelled as she retreated into the bathroom, gesturing for Sam to follow her. She went out the window, and Sam shoved Dean through ungraciously, following behind, though it was a bit of a tight fit for him. In the room, she could hear the door being kicked, and started jogging around the building, Sam following her as well as he could carrying Dean. They moved around to the front of the building, ducking behind a car to avoid being seen. Alice pulled a pin out of her bag, and stuck it in the cars lock. It clicked, and she opened the door, unlocking the others too. Sam dropped Dean in the backseat, before going around the the drivers side. and breaking off the plate over the wiring. Alice peered over the dashboard, seeing that the cops were still busy in the room. The car started, and they pulled out of the parking lot.  
"Now what?" Sam asked.  
"We get out of town. Preferrably a few towns over," Alice said.  
"You're just going to run?" Sam asked. Alice paused, knowing he wasn't talking about the police. "How much do you know?"  
"Everything," he replied.  
"So now what?" she asked.  
"I don't know. I haven't decided yet," Sam said.  
They drove in silence for a while, and neither of them spoke until they were on the highway.  
"Could you do me a favor?" she asked.  
"Depends on what it is," Sam said.  
"Don't tell your brother," she said.  
"Why not?" he asked. "It's not exactly something you want a lot of people to know," she said.  
He sighed. "We'll see... Smith," he said.  
She let her breath out in an annoyed huff when she heard her last name. "Don't call me that," she said.  
Sam was amused, but he didn't say anything.

* * *

(1)Cursed demon, reaper and corrupter of the souls of the innocent, in the name of God, the one God, the true God, the holy God whose name is sacred to mere mortals, the God of Israel, who is a vengeful God, I command thee, speak! Let no lies pass your lips, but humble yourself in the sight of the eternal majesty of the Lord, the Creator of all and the giver of salvation for the righteous and the innocent. I command thee now, speak!

(2)Bless this water lord, creator of all, giver of life and most gracious, beloved father. Let its work be to undo evil, and protect from all demonic forces, and every creaure and servant of Satan who would seek to destroy they that serve you. In the name of the one God, the true God, the only sacred God we pray.

(3) Speak!


	6. Chapter 6

The first thing Dean was aware of was the dull pain in his head. The next was the sharp, throbbing pain in his arms. He groaned, aching in his very bones. He remembered what had happened, and sat up, trying to get a sense of where he was through all the pain. He was in the backseat of a car. Someone had bandaged the cuts on his arms, and from the smell still lingering in the air, they'd disinfected them too. He turned, wondering where Alice and Sam were, and seeing Sam leaning against the trunk of the car, his shirt off. Dean looked around, seeing that they were on a highway, and it was dark out. He opened the car door, and stepped out, seeing Alice. She was holding a cup in one hand, and a pencil in the other, and she was... poking Sam with it?  
"What's going on?" he asked.  
"Give me a minute," Alice said. Sam grimaced as she kept poking him. Dean looked more closely, and realized that there was a needle stuck into the eraser of the pencil, and the cup was full of a thick black liquid. He looked at the left side of Sam's chest, where she was poking him, and realized what was going on.  
"Are you giving my brother a tattoo?" he asked. He looked more closely at it, and recognized it as the symbol warding against demonic possession. "An anti-possession tattoo," he amended.  
"She insisted," Sam said through gritted teeth.  
"Don't be a wuss," Alice said, not taking her eyes off the tattoo. "Mine hurt worse when I got it, and I had to do it to myself."  
"You've got one?" Dean asked.  
"Duh. I don't know how you can be a hunter, and not have one," Alice said.  
"So where's yours?" Dean asked.  
"My left wrist," she replied.  
"Ouch," he said.  
"You're next, and I'm almost done with Sam, so start thinking about where you want yours," she said.  
"What? Hold up, I'm not letting you poke a needle into me repeatedly," he said.  
"Don't worry, we've got whiskey," Sam said, taking a drink from the bottle resting on the top of the car.  
"You're done. Go be free," she said. He pulled his shirt back on, and stepped aside. Alice turned to Dean.  
"Where do you want yours?" she asked.  
He looked from her, to Sam, and then back. "What the hell. Same place as his," he said, pulling his shirt off and taking the whiskey away from Sam. "Let's get this over with."  
"Get comfortable," she said, taking the needle she'd just been using out of the pencils eraser and throwing it behind her. She poked another one in. "If you go to sleep, it makes it that much easier for me to do this, unless you roll."  
"I don't think I'm going to sleep," he said, taking a swig from the bottle.  
"Suit yourself," Alice said. She took out the gold knife, and blew on the blade, which burst into flames.  
"Whoa. How'd you do that?" Dean asked.  
"It's just what the knife does," Sam said. "It gets hot."  
"Huh. So there's actually nothing wrong with my lighter," Dean said. Alice just rolled her eyes.  
"And she finally told me what the deal is with the knives," Sam went on.  
"Really? Do share," he said.  
"The first two, the gold one and the basalt one have been passed down in her family, grandmothers side, for generations. But the silver one, that one is new."  
"Where'd that one come from?" Dean asked. Alice was holding the needle over the flames.  
"Her sister made it," Sam said.  
"How?" Dean asked.  
"She dabbled in witchcraft. A lot. Apparently, it came to a head when Alice, her grandmother and her sister got sent back here."  
"Basically she sold her soul for the power to create it," Alice said.  
"Ouch," Dean said. He watched as she wound thread around the needle, leaving only the tip sticking out. She put the cup and the needle aside, and brought out a sharpie marker, drawing an anti-possession symbol on the left side of his chest. Her hands were cold, and he shivered at the touch.  
"Hold still," she ordered. She dipped the needle in the cup, and poked him with it.  
"OW!" he said again, in pain this time.  
"Hold still," she said again. He took a long drink from the bottle, grimacing as she kept poking him.  
"I don't know what I ever did to you to deserve this," he said.  
"You tried to choke me to death," she said.  
"Right," he said, still not convinced that this was an appropriate reaction.  
"Assuming you're going to be doing his as long as you were mine, I'm going to sleep," Sam said. "One of you can drive. The keys are in the cupholder." He climbed in the backseat, and closed the door behind him.  
"Why'd he say one of us? I'm obviously going to be the one driving," Dean said.  
"Yes you are. I already had a shift," Alice said.  
"Sam let you drive?" he asked.  
"Hm-hmm," she said.  
"You didn't think that might be trouble if you got pulled over?" he asked.  
"We did get pulled over," Alice said.  
"How'd you get out of that one?" Dean asked.  
"Pulled out my learners permit. I got it a while back, but haven't had any adults to watch me with it, so it kind of went unused," she said.  
"Okay. So where'd you learn to tattoo?" he asked.  
"I didn't," she said.  
"What does that mean?  
"It means that this is the third tattoo I've ever done in my life," she said.  
"Are you going to horribly mess me up, and leave with a weird shapeless ink blob on my chest?" he asked, alarmed.  
"Nope," she said.  
"Well I'm glad one of us is sure," he said.  
They stood in silence for a while. Only a few cars drove past, and Dean wondered where they were. Alice spoke before he could ask though.  
"When you were possessed, could you read that demons mind?" she asked.  
"Uh, no. Why?" he asked.  
"Sam says that he could. I never heard of the person who was possessed reading the mind of the mind of the demon possessing them," she said.  
"Well I wouldn't know anything about it," he said.  
There was a short silence, before Dean spoke up. "Look, I wanted to say... what that demon said- about- er... when he said that..."  
"That I tickled you in all the right places?" Alice quoted, an amused look on her face.  
"Yeah. You do know he was lying... right?" he said.  
"Of course," Alice said, keeping her eyes on the tattoo in progress.  
"Good. Just making sure," Dean said. Alice didn't reply, and neither one of them said anything else for about an hour and a half. Dean didn't even think about falling asleep once the whole time(The constant pinprick of the needle kept him wide awake) and Alice took the whiskey away from him fairly early on, saying that it would suck if he got a DUI. He was beyond relieved when she finally announced that she was done, and they went on their way.

They drove for a week straight, taking it in shifts. They were in a town. It was almost dark, and Sams turn to drive, when they heard sirens behind them. Sam pulled over, and rolled down the window.  
"Evening officer. Can I help you?" he asked.  
"Registration please?" the cop asked.  
"Sure," Sam said. Dean fished around in the glove compartment, and handed the papers out. The cop inspected them, before peering in the window at Sam.  
"So I suppose you must be Maria Tanning," he said.  
"Uh, no, actually, she's my aunt," he said.  
The cop looked from the papers to Sam, and then back. "Wait here," he said. He headed back to his car, taking the papers with him. Sam turned to Dean, eyes wide in what was obviously panic. "What are we gonna do? This is a stolen car," he said.  
"Run for it?" Dean asked.  
"Nah, we'll never make it," Alice said.  
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Dean asked. Alice grinned.

* * *

Two more police cars pulled behind them, and one in front of them, boxing them in. Dean looked around.

"I really don't like this plan Alice," he said.  
"Well I do," she replied.  
The cop who'd pulled them over to start with walked up to the window. "You boys like to explain to me why you're driving a stolen car?" he asked.  
"Uh... we..." Sam trailed off, looking at Dean, who shrugged. The cop smirked. "Step out of the car, all three of you. And don't try anything," he said. They did, and the cop regarded Alice oddly.  
"What's a pretty young thing like you doing with criminals like these?" he asked.  
Alice crossed her arms over her chest, darting her eyes here and there. Dean had to admit, it wasn't bad acting.  
"They grabbed me," she said softly.  
"Sorry, what?" the cop said. Two more came over, and patted Sam and Dean down against the car.  
"They grabbed me off the street when I was walking home from school. I don't know who they are, but I swear I didn't do anything bad," she said. She looked like she was almost in tears.  
"Are you saying they kidnapped you?" the man asked. He looked like it was the most horrific thing he'd ever heard.  
"Yeah, I guess," she said.  
"Well... how long ago?" he asked.  
"Two days?" she said.  
"Right. Um... we'll take you back to the station with us, and uh, file a report. Kay?" he said. Alice nodded meekly, and followed him back to his car. Meanwhile, Dean and Sam were cuffed, and shoved in the back of another. Alice's car passed theirs, and she winked at them through the window.  
"That kid needs an oscar," Dean said.  
"Let's just hope that one, they buy it, and two, she can bust us out," Sam said quietly.  
"Yeah. That too," Dean said.

* * *

The police station was small, and Sam and Dean ended up sharing a cell with a passed out man in a suit. Neither of the boys looked at him twice, instead waiting for Alice. An hour passed, and Sam fell asleep. A while after, they heard crashing, screams and gunshots from outside. Sam jerked awake, and they both stood, listening. It went on for about five minutes, and then it just stopped and there was silence. They both stood as Alice raced through the door, holding a set of keys, and their duffel bag.

"We've got to get out of here, now," she said. She was wearing a shirt that Dean thought was supposed to be white, but it was covered in blood.  
"Alice, what happened?" he asked.  
"Later, we have to scram, now," she said.  
"Why, what-"  
"I'll tell you later, now follow me!" she yelled, cutting Sam off. She started running, one hand pressed to her side, and they followed her. In the next room it was complete carnage. There were bodies everywhere, some shot, others slashed by knives. Alice walked over them, out the door. She led them through the alleys and back streets, until they came to a car rental place. She handed Sam a very thick wad of bills.  
"Go get us somwething. I'll wait here," she said. He went, and Dean stayed behind with her.  
"Alice, what happened back there?" he asked. She leaned back against the wall, her hand still pressed tight to her side, teeth gritted in pain. Dean's face of angry impatience melted into one of concern. "Are you shot?" he asked.  
Alice nodded. "It's not bad. They missed anything important," she said.  
"Let me see," he said, bending down. She groaned as he moved her hand, blood rushing out freely. She pressed her hand back over it.  
"I've had worse," she said.  
"What happened?" he asked, quietly this time.  
"Let's wait for Sam. I don't want to have to tell it twice," she said. "Alright," he said. He leaned against the wall next to her, and she let her head fall to rest on his shoulder. They waited for a few minutes, before Sam pulled up with a car. Alice got in the back, and Dean slid in next to her.  
"Alice got shot," Dean said.  
"Drug store stop?" Sam asked. Dean nodded, and they started driving.  
"So what the hell happened back there?" Sam asked.  
"I had them believing me. They were about to send me to a hotel for the night while they checked for missing persons matching my profile in the last two days around the area," she said. "But there was a hunter there, passing himself as an FBI agent, name of Alex Ferdle. He knew me," she said.  
"Knew you? Like, 1990, knew you?" Sam asked. Alice nodded.  
"What does that mean?" Dean asked. Both Sam and Alice became very quiet. "Sam, what does that mean?" he asked, a bit more loudly.  
"It's a long story," Alice said.  
"I got time," Dean said.  
"But I don't. I'll tell you sometime, but not now," Alice said.  
They stopped at a drugstore, and Dean ran in to grab bandages and disinfectant, before they started out of town. They waited until they were on the highway, before Dean fished the bullet out of Alices side.  
"I want to do it myself," she'd said.  
"Why?" he asked.  
"Because that's what I always do," she said, but he was already shaking his head. "You were always alone before. Trust me, I've tried it both ways, it's better if you have someone to do it for you," he said. She didn't look too happy about it, but she lifted her shirt up, shifting so he could get at the wound.  
"Just relax," he said.  
She took a breath, clenching her jaw in pain, but kept quiet until he found it, and pulled it out. She let out a ragged breath, and he poured disinfectant on the wound, before taking out the gold knife, and blowing on it.  
"No, you want it hot, not on fire," Alice said. "Like this." She took the knife from him, and wiped it on her shirt, getting blood on it, and then blowing on it. It started glowing, and Dean could feel the heat coming off of it in the confined space.  
"It needs blood for that," she said. He took the knife from her.  
"Ready?" he asked.  
"Just do it," she said.  
He pressed the flat of the blade to her, and she couldn't hold back a small cry of pain as it burnt her. He held it there, before taking it away.  
"How do I turn this thing off?" he asked.  
"You don't. It'll cool off on it's own," Sam said from up front.  
"Oh," he said. He leaned up, and put it in the cupholder.  
"Thanks," Alice said. "Both of you."  
"Yeah, well, hunters don't let other hunters bleed to death," Dean said, sitting back down in the back seat.  
"You do know technically it's your turn to drive," Sam told Dean.  
"Well, the clock's restarting, so it's your turn again," Dean said. "Besides, you only took like ten mintues of your shift." There was silence for a long time after that, and eventually, both Dean and Alice fell asleep, leaving Sam in a silent car with his thoughts.

When Dean woke, it was dark. The car was parked on the side of the road, and he could hear Sam snoring from the front seat. He glanced to the side, ready to go back to sleep, and expecting to see Alice still sleeping, but that was not the case. She was sitting up in the seat next to him, her shirt off, leaving only her bra. She was holding a rag, and scrubbing her arms, and he realized she was trying to get the blood off of herself. He thought briefly that he should probably look away, but he didn't. She was beautiful, her thin form leanly muscled, and peppered with scars, most of which looked like they were knife cuts. There was a burn scar on her lower back, and he guessed that it was a bullet wound that she'd cauterized a while ago. She was shivering, and covered in gooseflesh, wincing as she wiped gingerly around the gunshot that she'd only just received.  
He caught sight of her arms, realizing now that they were clean that the the cuts on each had been reopened. He frowned at this, certain that those had been healed the last time he'd seen them. She pulled a shirt out of the duffel bag, and pulled it on, curling into a shivering ball on the seat. He watched her for a few minutes, the familiar feeling of protectiveness creeping over him.  
"Alice?" he asked, his voice still thick from sleep. She started, sitting up and looking around.  
"Dean," she said. "What's going on?"  
"Nothing," he said.  
"How long have you been awake?" she asked.  
"I just woke up. You were shivering," he said.  
"Well, it is cold," Alice said. "That's generally what happens when it gets cold."  
He regarded her for a moment, and then beckoned her with a finger. "C'mere."  
She scooted across the seat towards him, looking a bit apprehensive. He opened his jacket, and pulled her up against him before pulling it tight around both of them. She had a thought of resistance, but dismissed it quickly when she realized how much warmer it was than curling up into a ball.  
"Thanks," she said.  
"Hunters don't let other hunters freeze," Dean said.  
"Most hunters really stick together, huh?" Alice asked.  
"Not really. Only if they're friends of family," he said.  
"I'm a friend?" she asked.  
"You're... our best shot at getting back home," he said, though in truth, he really didn't know what she was to him anymore.  
"So I gain automatic friend status," she said, sounding amused.  
"Yeah, I guess," he said.  
She didn't say anything after that, and after a while her breathing evened out as she fell asleep. He didn't though. He stayed awake, trying to sort out his feelings. It wasn't that he'd never met anyone like Alice before. He'd met tons of people exactly like her. The thing that had his feelings running around and tripping over each other was that he'd never met someone as young as Alice, who was like Alice. He didn't know how to act around her. She conflicted with everything he knew about kids, or teenagers, which was basically that they were innocent, and it was his job to keep them safe from the things that hid in the shadows. From what he'd seen of Alice, she was perfectly capable of scaring away the monsters herself. And he had to constantly remind himself that she was still just a kid. A kick-ass kid, who swore, and drank, and didn't listen to anyone, and apparently didn't have any qualms with killing an entire station full of police, but a kid, none the less.  
He didn't pay much attention to rules, especially laws. Most laws he had to break every day just to do his job and stay alive. But even he acknowledged that there were some things that he just couldn't do. And fourteen year old girls were one of them, the better part of him insisted. And yet, she was so much older than fourteen years, in a way, the less moral side argued. Shouldn't that make a difference? Shouldn't she be allowed to choose for herself? How could it be that a woman was old enough to kill a man, but not to love one?  
These thoughts, and many others swirling madly in his head, he eventually fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Two days passed, and Alice announced that they would be enlisting the help of a 'friend.' She refused to tell them anything more, except that this friend owed her everything, and then some. They drove there, stopping once along the way to take care of a vampire nest that had just happened to be in a town they were passing through. A week passed, and Dean still had no idea what exactly had happened back at the police station, nor what 1990 meant. And Alice and Sam seemed to have some sort of agreement between the two of them, because whenever he tried to broach the subject with one, the other would suddenly bring up some emergency, and it would be put off. And he was never alone with one of them. They stuck to one another like burrs.  
They finally made it to their destination, the small town of Bisbee, which was built on a lot of hills. Alice led them to her friends house, and knocked on the door herself. It was answered by a tall, skinny man, who looked like he was in his early thirties. He had scraggly brown hair, sunken eyes, and skin that was as pale as death, which was odd, considering he lived in the middle of the desert.  
His eyes widened when he saw Alice, and he looked like he was choking on something. "Y-you!" he finally managed to splutter.  
"Hey Roger," Alice said. She pushed past him, strolling into his house. He turned to watch her, ignoring the boys completely, and leaving to door open to pursue Alice. Dean stepped into the house, and was immediately overwhelmed by the clutter therein. The entire front room was stacked with newspapers, old magazines, paper clippings, and random sheets of paper. There were several empty beer cans tossed here and there, and the walls were plastered with maps, newspaper clippings, and notes.  
"Holy," Dean said, sidestepping to try to get out of this room. He could hear Alice and the man, Roger, arguing in the next room over. He made it to the doorway, though Sam wasn't quite as lucky. He knocked into one of the piles of newpapers, and they cascaded down on him. He dodged to the side, but knocked into a different pile, which he was buried under. Several more piles were knocked down as well, and now the front room just looked like a sea of papers. Dean started back towards him.  
"Sammy? You okay?" he asked.  
"I'm fine," Sam said from under the papers, sticking his hand up and giving Dean a thumbs up.  
"You need help?" he asked.  
"No. No, I think I can just- I got it," he said.  
"Right. I'm going to see what's going on with Alice and her friend," Dean said, starting back towards the door.  
"Yeah. You just go... and do that," Sam said.  
Dean stepped out of the front room, and was surprised to find that this room was clean, except for a few papers that had spilled over the threshold in the avalanche Sam had created. This was a kitchen/dining room, with a tiny table, and one chair tucked into the corner.  
"You owe me your life, and so many others," Alice was saying, standing by the fridge.  
"I don't owe you squat. You came in, and completely wrecked my life," Roger said passionately. "Look at me now! I look like one of those hoarders or something. I can't get sleep at night. My neighbors think I'm a devil worshipper, and the little family I have left alive thinks I'm on drugs!"  
"You owe me everything," Alice said, walking up and poking him the the chest. He took a step back, gulping. "I saved your life, your fiancees life, your aunts life, your sisters life, and your pig as a bonus. Now, you are going to help me, or I will track every last one of them down, and I will kill them," Alice said.  
"But-"  
"I'll kill the pig too," she added.  
Roger looked defeated, and on the brink of tears. He sighed. "Alright, alright. What the hell is it you want me to do?" he asked.  
"We're hunting a demon. I want you to take down the spells shielding you from them, so _they_ can find you," Alice said.  
"So basically I'm bait," he said.  
"Yeah, basically," Alice said.  
"Uh-uh. No way in hell I'm doing that. I've seen what happens to the people you associate yourself with. It is never pretty," he said.  
"Pig..." Alice said.  
Roger let out a sound somewhere in between a sob and a groan. "That's not fair. You can't keep playing that card!" he whined.  
"I don't play fair, and I will be threatening to kill your pig until the day you die, or manage to remove yourself from my debt," Alice said.  
"Alright, fine. Can I at least call my remaining loved ones to say good bye?" he asked.  
"You've got an hour to sort out your affairs. After that, I want the spells down, and you stay in this house, period. We're going to be watching, and when they come, we're going to keep your ass from getting tortured for information, got it?" Alice said.  
He nodded, and Alice, seeming satisfied, walked out the door. She stepped on Sam on the way out, drawing a yelp from him. She frowned, digging around in the papers, and hauling him up.  
"Be more careful," she said, her tone scolding.  
They followed her out, expecting her to go back to the car. Instead, she knocked on the door of the house across the street from Rogers. The door was answered by an old woman.  
"Hello ma'am. We're with the CDC, and there's been a reported outbreak of an unidentifial virus attacking the elderly in this area," Alice said, holding a badge out for the woman to see.  
"Oh, how terrible," the woman said. "But how does this concern me?"  
"We're evacuating the area, and we're going to need you to go over to the nearest hospital for testing," Alice said.  
"Was this on the news?" the woman said.  
"It will be," Alice said. "In the meantime, we need you to go. This is Barry Filmen, he'll drive you," she said, pointing to Sam.  
"I will? Oh, of course I will," Sam said.  
"But what about my house? Is it contaminated?" the woman asked.  
"We don't know. Chances are you don't even have the virus, but we can't be to careful," Dean said, smiling.  
"Alright then. Just let me grab my purse," she said.  
"Actually, it would be best if you left that here," Alice said. "That way, if your house is contaminated, we can disinfect your purse along with the rest of your possessions."  
"Oh alright," the woman said. She walked out the door, and Sam followed, the look on his face saying that he did not like this job. Alice smiled, and waved as they drove away, before stepping into the house.  
"You're evil, you know that?" Dean said. Alice saw the womans purse hanging up, and started rooting through it, pulling out a twenty dollar bill.  
"Relax, I"m not even taking it all," she said. She pulled a stick of chalk out of her pocket, and started drawing on the walls.  
"What are those?" he asked.  
"It's enochian. It'll make us invisble to the beings who are coming as soon as Roger takes down those spells," Alice said.  
"Right. And what's coming, exactly?" Dean asked.  
"Wait and see," Alice said.  
"Ah. So I just have to sit back and pray that whatever the hell you're doing works?" Dean asked.  
"No. Whatever you do, do not pray," Alice said.  
"Oh. Alright. No praying," Dean said. He sat down on the couch. "So what can I do?"  
"Stay out of the way," Alice said.  
"Can I ask one question?" Dean asked.  
"Depends on the question," Alice replied.  
"What's up with Rogers pig?" Dean asked.  
"Oh. That," Alice chuckled. "Poor bastard had a pet pig before... anyway, it died. I convinced him that I saved it, and it's happily living on a farm somewhere. Basically, I have leverage."  
"That's cruel," Dean said.  
"Not really. I think he would hang himself if he knew it was dead. The idiot loved his pig more than his fiancee, which is why she is no longer his bride-to-be," Alice said.  
"Oh. Okay," Dean said. Alice drew the symbols on all of the walls, and the windows, until she got back to where she started. "Stay here. I'll be back," she said, walking out the front door, and leaving Dean alone. He watched out the window as she walked over to Rogers house, and went in. She came back out a moment later, and walked back into the house where Dean was still sitting on the couch.  
"What'd you do over there?" he asked.  
"I set a trap," she said. She pulled a chair up to the window, and started at Rogers house. Dean pulled up another chair, joining her.  
"So, we're just sitting here, and I would really appreciate it if you would tell me what we're doing here," Dean said.  
"Trapping some... things. They used to be on my side. Now I'm on my own side, and they would kill me, given the chance. Roger has been shielded for so long because he knows that as soon as the shields go down, they'll come for him. But they'll figure it's a trap, because they're smart, and shields don't just go down like that. So, they'll come, expecting me to try to snare them. And they'll know that I'll know that they'll know it's a trap."  
"Okay," Dean said. "Are you going to tell me what they are?"  
"No," she said.  
"Why not?" he asked.  
"Because damn my soft heart, I've grown a bit fond of you two doofus'," Alice said. "I would prefer to keep you alive."  
"Oh," Dean said, taken aback by that.  
"Don't let it go to your head. If I get a shot at my sister, and it involves getting you and your brother killed, I will still take it," she said.  
"Okay," Dean said, pretty sure that that was as close to affection as anyone could ever get out of Alice.

* * *

Sam came back a few minutes later, and they all waited. About an hour after darkness fell, Alice stood suddenly.

"They're here," she said.  
"How do you know that?" Dean asked.  
"I can feel them," she said. She hesitated. "There's only one. Why is there only one?" She shook her head, and ran out the door, Dean and Sam moved to follow her. She stopped them though.  
"No, you stay here. They can't sense me, but they can you. You just stay here, and I'll come get you when it's safe," she said. She jogged across the street, but rather than going through the front door, she went around the back. She crept into the kitchen, where Roger was cornered, whimpering.  
"Please, I swear, I don't know where she is," he said.  
"You're lying," the woman standing over him said. She had black hair, and was about 5'5, dressed in a suit. Her back was turned to Alice.  
"Actually," he isn't," she said. The woman whipped around, facing Alice.  
"Alice," she said.  
"Anna," Alice acknowledged her. "It's been a while."  
"Almost a hundred years," Anna said. She took a step towards Alice, and Alice took a step towards her. Behind Anna, Roger pulled out a box of matches, and lit one, throwing it to the floor. Flames erupted in a circle, and Anna was stuck in the center of it. She looked around at them, and then back at Alice.  
"I see you learned a few new tricks," Anna said.  
"Where are the others?" Alice asked.  
"They'll be here soon," Anna said. "I'm sorry it had to come down to this."  
"It doesn't have to be this way. I just need one thing from you," Alice said.  
"I can't help you. You know that," Anna said. "I would be hunted."  
"It's not that bad, really," Alice said.  
"Not that bad for you. All you had to do was carve some symbols onto your ribs," Anna said. "Me? I would have to take much more drastic measures."

"Yeah, and getting symbols carved into your ribs is absolutely painless," Alice said. "Look, I don't have time to chat about old times. I need your knife. Just on loan, I promise I'll give it back."  
"I can't. It would violate my orders," Anna said.  
"It wouldn't be the first time you'd disobeyed," Alice said.  
"No. But I was punished severely the first time. Never again," she said.  
"That's a pity. I'm going to have to kill you, and take the knife by force then," Alice said.  
"And how do you plan to do that?" Anna asked.  
"Douse you with holy oil. Light you up," Alice said.  
"You wouldn't do that to me," Anna said.  
"Wouldn't I? Last chance Anna," Alice said.  
Anna's eyes were drawn to something behind Alice. "About time. Where were you?" she asked.  
Alice spun around, faced with a tall hispanic man, who looked like he was in his mid twenties. Alice swallowed.  
"Alice," he said in greeting.  
"Naziel. You've aged," she said.  
"Barely," he replied. He waved his hand, and the holy fire around Anna died down. Alice backed up a step, mind racing, knowing that this was most probably the day she would die.

* * *

Dean paced back and forth across the floor anxiously.

"Dude, calm down, she's only been gone five minutes," Sam said.  
"I don't like this," Dean said.  
"Yeah, and I'm just thrilled with it too," Sam said.  
"Do you know what she's luring here?" Dean asked.  
"I- Ahh... no," Sam said.  
"You're lying," Dean accused.  
"Well... it's kind of... it's complicated," Sam said.  
"Is it?" Dean asked. "Because if there's something I need to know, you'd better tell me Sam. Wait, did she make you promise not to tell me?" Dean asked.  
"What? No. No she didn't," Sam said.  
"Then why won't you tell me Sam?" Dean asked.  
"Hey, come look at this," Sam said from the window.  
"What is it?" Dean asked. He joined his brother at the window, just in time to see a large group of men, maybe ten, going around the back of the house.  
"Okay," Dean said. He pulled out his gun, going for the door. "That's it, we're going in before she gets herself killed."  
Sam hesitated a moment, wondering if that would actually be a bad thing, before following Dean.

* * *

"So, now that you guys have Alice, can I go?" Roger asked.

"Yes. Leave," Naziel said.  
He left the house hurriedly, leaving Alice alone with the two angels.  
"So. Are you going to kill me now? After everything we went through?" Alice asked Anna.  
"I'm sorry. But it's orders," Anna said. She turned to Naziel. "I'll leave this to you," she said. She disappeared with a whoosh, leaving Alice alone with Naziel.  
"I've been looking forward to this," Naziel said, drawing his knife and advancing on her.  
"I'm sure you have been," Alice said.  
"Having a happy reunion you two?" a familiar voice came from behind.  
Alice and Naziel both looked to the back hall, to see Ruby, her hand hovering over a sigil painted on the wall in blood. Her arm was still bleeding, though it didn't seem to bother her much. She smiled, and slapped it. Alice shielded her eyes as a bright light flashed, Naziel ascending.  
"Come on in," Ruby called over her shoulder. Demons streamed in the back door, gathering in the tiny kitchen, and overcrowding it. Alice, still backed in a corner, weaponless, and straightened.  
"I wasn't expecting you to have the guts to show up here," Alice said.  
"Guess you underestimated me," Ruby said.  
"How'd you get past the angels?" Alice asked.  
"Your sister has the same rib decorations as you do," Ruby said.  
"I bet you think you've got me this time, don't you?" Alice asked.  
"From where I'm standing? Yeah. You don't have any way out," Ruby said.  
"Think again." Ruby turned, to see Dean, pointing a gun straight at her.  
"I don't need to," Ruby said. She ran to the side quickly, and Dean fired, hitting one of the other demons. With that one shot, everything dissolved into chaos immediately. Demons swarmed Dean, as Sam snuck through the front door, fighting his way through the papers, while holding a bucket full of water. He made it into the dining room/kitchen, managing not to spill too much. He was immediately knocked over, and the water splashed everywhere, burning the demons it came into contact with. Ruby fell to the floor in agony, and her pain was increased by the fact that the floor was soaked with holy water. Steam and shrieks and gunshots filled the air, and Sam was almost trampled from his spot on the floor. He saw Ruby thrashing about, the silver knife in a sheath around her waist. He crawled towards her as quickly as he could, and grabbed it. Ruby grabbed ahold of his arm, but he managed to wrench his arm away from her. He tried to stab her, but she rolled, and he was knocked down by another demon. He slashed blindly with the knife, and felt it connect with flesh, and the orange light erupted from the demon he'd hit.  
"Dean!" he yelled. Alice heard his shout from where she was doing her best to fend off the demons, and tried to make her way over to him. Ruby got there first though, dodging as Sam swung the knife at her, and Alice was too busy with the demons around her to go to him. Alice heard the swish of wings, and light exploded from the eyes and mouth of the demon she had been fighting. It fell to the floor, and Alice saw Anna behind it.  
"Close your eyes," she said.  
"Dean! Sam! Close your eyes!" Alice yelled, shutting her own tightly. Ruby spotted Anna, and realized what was happening. She kicked Sam, grabbing the knife from him, and diving out of the window a second before Rogers house lit up with a blinding white light. It blinked out, and Ruby stood, considering her options, and decided to retreat. She ran off down the road, not looking back.

* * *

"I knew you weren't going to hand me out to dry," Alice said.  
"They sent me here to kill you, since Naziel is unable," Anna said.

"Wait, who is this?" Dean asked.  
"Not now Dean," Alice said.  
"Oh. I know who it is," Sam said. "Anna. Right?"  
"I am Anna," Anna said. She turned back to Alice. "And I have made my choice." She took out her knife, and both Sam and Dean tensed, expecting her to stick Alice with it. Instead, she flipped it, holding the handle out to Alice, who took it.  
"I have rebelled for you. Do what you must. This is the last time you will see me," she said. She disappeared, leaving Alice and the boys alone in Rogers house.  
"Okay," Dean said. "This has been put off too long already. I want answers, and I want them now," he said.  
Alice and Sam looked at one another, and Alice sighed. "Fine."


	8. Chapter 8

"Who- what was that, and how do you know her?" Dean asked Alice. They were in the car, Sam driving, Alice in the front seat, and Dean in the back. They'd checked the bodies, and found that Ruby was gone, before bailing, knowing that the police would not be happy.  
"Her name is Anna. She's an angel," Alice said.  
"An angel?" Dean asked.  
"That's what I said," she said.  
"There's no such thing as angels," Dean said.  
"Whatever. I'm not going over the disbelief speech with you," Alice said.  
"Okay. Let's say I do believe that she's an angel- which I don't," Dean said. "But assuming that I did, what's your connection with her?"  
"I agreed to be her host for a short time when we were in 1890," Alice said. "It ended badly, and my family and I barely made it out alive. She carved enochian symbols into our ribs before we left, which was breaking her orders, and it got her into a lot of trouble. She just disobeyed again, giving me this knife, and twice over since she let me live, so I would expect that she's going to be killed this time."  
"What does that do? The enochian syumbols?" Dean asked.  
"Basically she can't be found by angels," Sam said.  
"What happened in 1990?" Dean went on.  
Neither one of them said anything.  
"Come on, tell me what happened," Dean said.  
"You tell him," Alice told Sam. She turned, staring out the window.  
"1990 was the year Alice, her grandmother and her sister came through to when she killed the second trickster. A week later, her sister used the power she'd acquired back in in 1890 to create the knife. Unfortunately, the recipe she had called for the blood of 100 innocent souls."  
"How'd she pull that off?" Dean asked.  
"One big spell. She wiped out an entire town, which was actually a bit over 100 people," Sam said.  
Dean was silent for a moment, absorbing that piece of information. "So your sister was evil to start with," he said.  
"Don't go there," Alice said, her voice dark. "Just don't."  
"So if your sister did it, why did that hunter back at the police station make trouble with you?" Dean asked.  
"Because I let her do it," Alice said. "I lied for her. Our grandmother thought she was just going out for supplies."  
"You didn't care that all those people would die?" Dean asked.  
Alice turned to face him, her expression cold. "No. No I didn't. Because that knife is the most useful tool that any hunter has ever had. I let her sacrifice one hundred people so that we could save thousands of others."  
"Do you really believe that was the right thing to do?" Dean asked.  
"I weighed the gain versus the loss, and it was the best option," Alice said.  
"Wow. You know what Alice? It wasn't the right thing to do. It is never the right thing to do. You can't just play god like that, deciding who lives and who dies," Dean said.  
"As if you're a saint," she said, facing forward again.  
"Maybe I'm not squeaky clean, but I never deliberately sacrificed 100 people," he said.  
"Look, just drop it. I don't need a lecture from you. Just because you're old enough to be my father doesn't mean that you are," Alice said.  
He didn't feel like dropping it, but he did, instead opting to stare stormily out the window, trying to reorganize his impressions.  
"So now what do we do?" Sam asked.  
"Now we find my sister," Alice said.  
"How are we going to do that?" Dean asked.  
"I'm working on it. But of course, there is always the obvious option."  
"What's that?" Sam asked.  
"Just sit and wait for her to come to us," she said. "But she would bring a lot of others, and chances are, we would get killed. And there is a chance that she wouldn't even bother coming herself." She paused. "But whatever I do, I'm going to do it alone."  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Dean asked.  
"You can't help me, and I can't be worrying about you. I'll summon the trickster for you. You can kill him, or make a deal with him, or force him to send you back, I don't really care."  
"Thanks," Sam said.  
"It's okay. I guess that hunters don't force other hunters to stay fifteen years away from where they're supposed to be, huh?" Alice said.

* * *

The ritual for summoning the trickster was actually a lot easier than Dean would have guessed. It basically required a chicken, and an abandoned sanctuary(Basically, a church that had been empty for at least a year).

"They prefer different things each, but chickens will do," she explained as she drew a large circle on the ground in chalk, before moving to it's center, and making a smaller circle, just big enough for her to sit in. She drew spikes from this, indicating all four major compass points, and the four smaller points as well, before going around the outer circle, and etching intricate symbols along the inside and outside of it.  
"What is that?" Sam asked.  
"Containing spell," she said, indicating the outer ring. She went to stand in the center of the inner circle. "Protective barrier. In case he decides he'd rather eat me than the cheap walmart chicken," she said. Dean looked like he wanted to say something, but Alice cut him off.  
"Now whatever happens, I need you two idiots to stay out of the circle, do you understand? I know how to handle these bastards, and I can deal with whatever he throws my way. But keep in mind that it's a god of trickery, and you can just about take it for granted that every word coming out of his mouth is going to be specifically designed to manipulate you, and get you to do what he wants. So don't be stupid, and mind your manners," she finished.  
"I'm glad you've got so much faith in us," Dean mumbled. "Faith is a limitless commodity, of which I have none," Alice said, not turning to look at him. She placed the chicken inside of the outer circle, and stepped into the inner circle. She cleared her throat, and began to chant.  
"(1)Jeg kaller deg, trickster, du som doth holde mange navn. I god vilje, tilbyr jeg denne maten til deg, dette som jeg har jobbet for å tjene, og for å skape, med mitt blod, og og min svette og hardt arbeid. Kom, bønnfaller jeg deg. Kom til meg, tilkalle jeg deg på denne tiden, i denne tiden av behovet og det haster at du kan søke å plassere din nåde og barmhjertighet, og gi meg nåde for dine øyne."  
"That was not latin," Sam said.  
"Alice what was that?" Dean asked.  
"It was Norwegian." Their gazes were drawn to a man, standing in the outer circle. Both of the brothers recognized him immediately.  
"It was rough Norwegian, and you said some of it wrong, but hey, most people just demand my prescence in English." He tipped his head in Alices direction. "Nice try. What do you want then?"  
"These are Sam and Dean Winchester," Alice said, pointing to them. "They don't belong here."  
"I can see that," he said. He grinned widely. "Oh, it was me, wasn't it? Yeah, it was me, you don't even have to say it." He started laughing, and the sound echoed hollowly in the empty warehouse. Dean was about to snap at him, but Alice shot him a look, and he kept quiet. The tricksters laughter eventually died down, and he looked at Alice.  
"You want me to send them back?" he asked. She nodded.  
"Alright. That's reasonable. When are they from, originally?" he asked.  
"2005," Alice said.  
"Okay. I will do it for you, gladly," he said.  
"But?" Alice asked.  
"What makes you think there's a but?" the trickster asked.  
"I've dealt with your kind before. There's always a but," Alice said.  
"Ah, yes. You have, haven't you? I thought you looked a bit familiar. You're Alice Smith. You killed my brothers," he said.  
"One welched on a deal, and the other one didn't give me any options," Alice said.  
"Yeah. Well, they were both dicks, I guess," he said thoughtfully. "In any case, you're right, there is a but," he said.  
"Alright, what is it you want us to do?" Alice asked.  
"It's simple. All you have to do is get something for me," he said.  
"What?" Alice asked.  
"A locket," the trickster said. "I'll even tell you where it is."  
"Go on," Alice said.  
"It's currently held by a clan of shapeshifters in Boston," the trickster said.  
"I think I know which ones you mean," Alice said.  
"Good. Summon me again when you have it. And by the way, I prefer chocolate to chicken," he said. He gestured at the circle. "Could you let me out?" Alice nodded to Sam, who rubbed at the circle, breaking it. The trickster disappeared immediately, and Alice stepped out of the circle.  
"We should get going. Assuming they haven't moved, I know exactly where the bastards are," she said.  
"How?" Sam asked.  
"It was the last hunt my grandmother and I went on together," she said. "We never got to finished it."

* * *

They drove straight to Boston, only stopping to eat, and sleeping in shifts. They checked into a hotel when they got there, so that they could all catch up on their sleep. There wasn't a lot of talking. Dean was conflicted as to how he felt about finally being so close to going home. He was glad that he would be getting back. But he also felt a touch sad. Honestly, he knew exactly why, but he didn't want to admit it to himself.

He knew he was going to miss Alice.

They were standing outside the apartment building that Alice had led them to. The plan was that Sam and Dean were going to go in the front door, and draw their attention, while Alice would sneak in the back, and hopefully find the locket. There were three forseeable outcomes. One, they would find the locket, and get the hell out of dodge. Two, they would kill all of the shifters, and then find the locket(Not neccesarily in that order), and then leave. Or three, they would just get themselves killed. Of course, there were many variations upon these three, but basically, those were it.  
Sam walked up to the front door, and knocked. Dean frowned at him, and shooed him out of the way, before kicking the door in. It hit the shifter who had apparently been coming to open it, and Sam and Dean stepped into a hall. They left the door open behind them, an escape route. Almost immediately, doors opened, and curious heads poked out, surprised to see two hunters in their hallway.  
Dean adjusted his grip on his knife. "Come and get us you sons of bitches," he said. With a snarl, the one closest charged, and the others followed his example.

* * *

Alic heard the shouts from the front of the building as she was picking the lock on the back door. She got it, and went in, holding her knife and treading carefully. She hadn't the faintest idea where to start looking, so she picked a door. She put her hand on the knob, and burst in quickly, finding it empty. It was an office. She closed the door behind her, and and started going through the desk drawers.

* * *

Dean and Sam were backed into a corner in what appeared to be a living room. They'd killed a few shifters, and wounded a few more, but they were getting tired, and they were outnumbered. One got a good, solid blow in to the side of Deans head. Dean retaliated with a slash of the knife, but missed completely. It grabbed ahold of his arm, twisting, and he dropped the knife. It threw him against the wall, and his vision dimmed around the edges. He was hauled to his feet by a shifter, and he could see that Sam wasn't faring too well. The shifter had his knife, and was about to cut his throat, but a voice from the door stopped it.  
"Don't kill them," a short woman, with obviously fake red hair, cut into like a pixies. "Bring them upstairs," she said.

* * *

Alice was upstairs, in what looked like a living room area. She was rooting through the drawers in a coffee table, when she heard a gun cock behind her.  
"Don't move," A voice behind her said. She turned, to see a boy of no more than seven years old, dressed in pajamas, holding a gun. "I've got another one," he yelled over his shoulder. Alice leapt to the side, out of the way of the gun, and then back at him, bowling him over. She wrenched the gun out of his grasp, and shot him. He seemed stunned, but she could tell that he wasn't really hurt, which meant the bullets weren't silver.  
"David!" a male shifter yelled from the stairway. Alice was knocked the side, and she lost her grip on her knife, which skittered under the coffee table. Someone pulled her up by her hair, and she clenched her jaw, not making a sound. She saw Dean and Sam being hauled up the stairs, both sporting various cuts and bruises, and looking rather subdued.

Screw subdued, Alice thought, kicking and scratching and flailing against the shifter holding her. He knocked her head against the wall, and she was too dizzy to resist for a moment. A short shifter with red hair that was, amazingly, shorter than she was, walked over.  
"Stop. Just hold them. I want to know why they're here," she said.  
"We're here to kill you," Alice said.  
"And why would you want to do that?" the shifter, Alice was guessing she was the leader, said.  
"You're monsters. We're hunters. That's generally how it goes," Alice said.  
"That's shame. You're kind of cute," the shifter said, trailing a hand down her jaw.  
"Don't you touch her," Dean growled, straining against the shifter holding him, and receiving a solid whack in return.  
"Ooh, touchy," the shifter said. She turned back to Alice, who shrank away from her in disgust. "Hmm," she said thoughtfully. "Maybe if I looked like this?" Her features shifted, and there was suddenly another version of Dean standing in front of her. Her neck cracked, and she adjusted her collar. Alices attention was drawn by a glint of gold. A locket, around the shifters neck. The shifter leaned in close to her, drawing in a deep breath.  
"Oh yes. You want him. I can smell it on you," she said with Deans voice.  
Alice shuddered at the feel of his- her beath on her neck, and she met Deans, the real Dean, who was looking on in horror, eyes, and then looked at the knife under the coffee table. He followed her gaze, and saw it, and nodded at her minutely. Alice gritted her teeth, and leaned foward, capturing the shifters mouth with hers. Dean tried to make himself relax, and succeeded, to some extent. He waited a moment, and then threw his head back, hitting the shifter holding him square in the face. He got free, and ran for the coffee table, grabbing the knife and slashing at the shifters who came after him. Alice brought her knee up on the one in Deans form, copying Dean and headbutting the other, grabbing the locket off the lead shifters neck, before she made for the door. Sam had gotten free, and they retreated, Dean bringing up the rear, and slashing at anyone who got close to them. They made it out the door, and raced down the street to where they'd left the car, the shifters in hor pursuit. They leapt into the car, and slammed the doors behind them, racing off down the street.  
"Are you okay?" Dean asked.  
"Yeah," Sam said from in the backseat.  
"I'm good," Alice said, sitting in the passenger side, though she wasn't entirely sure that she was.  
They got back to the motel, Alice still licking her lips, and twitching oddly.  
"We need to find an abandoned church now," Sam said. Alice had gone to the bathroom. Dean glanced towards it.  
"You go, I think someone should stay with her," Dean said.  
"Okay," Sam said.  
"Hey. Bring back food," Dean said.  
"Got it," Sam said as he walked out the door, closing it behind him. Dean made sure it was locked, and then sat in the chair, waiting. Alice came out a moment later.  
"Sam went to find an abandoned church?" she asked.  
"Yeah. I told him to bring back food," Dean said. She nodded, peeking out the curtains, before closing them.  
"Good."  
He shifted uncomfortably. "Look, Alice, are you sure that you're okay?"  
"Would it make you feel better if I told you I wasn't okay?" she asked, not sitting, but standing so he had to look up to her. He stood, uncomfortable with the feeling.  
"I don't know. You just seem... I don't know. Like the only emotion you ever feel are annoyance, or self-righteousness," he said.  
"Maybe those are just the only ones I show," she said.  
"Why?" he asked.  
"Did it ever occur to you that I've been hurt? A lot? Pain is easier to deal with when it isn't there," she said.  
"That doesn't work," he said.  
She took a step towards him. "And you know this how?" she asked.  
"Because I've tried it. Trust me, I have. And I know, for a fact, that shoving everything down, does not help."  
"So what do you suggest I do?" she asked.  
"Act human. Talk to someone. I don't know. Show something to prove you aren't dead," he said.  
She looked at him for a moment, considering his words. She took another step forward suddenly, and grabbed handfuls of his shirt. He thought she was going to start hitting him. Instead, she pulled him down to her height, placing her lips on his solidly. The action took him by surprise, and he pulled back from her. She followed, pushing him against the wall and moving to kiss him again, but he pushed her away.  
"Alice, no," he said.  
"Why not?" she asked.  
"Because you are way too young," he said.  
"I'm old enough to kill a man, but I'm not old enough to love one?" she asked.  
"You're too young to be doing either," he said.  
"And yet, I've killed men all my life," she said.  
He wasn't sure how to respond to that, and she looked at him for a moment longer, before she leaned up again, pressing her lips to his. He stayed still, knowing he should push her away. He should tell her no. That he didn't want her. But the truth was that he did want her. He'd wanted her for a while, and he could feel himself responding to her actions, small, cautious movements though they were. She pressed forward, emboldened by the fact that he wasn't pushing her away. She brought her hands up to either side of his face as she deepened the kiss, and he went along with her, parting his lips to let her in. He moaned softly as her tongue brushed against his, and his arms snaked around her waist, pulling her closer. She was barely even a woman yet, and he felt like he was kissing a child. He groaned as one of her hands slipped below his waist, brushing against the front of his pants. "This is wrong," he breathed, breaking away from the kiss.  
"It feels right to me," she said, running her fingers along his neck.  
"Are you sure?" he asked, the sensation raising gooseflesh on his arms. She looked up at him, meeting his eyes.  
"I never say anything unless I'm sure of it. I think you know that," she said. He held her gaze for a moment, and there was no doubt in the swirling colors of her eyes, now a shade darker than was usual. He leaned down suddenly, kissing her possessively, and she wrapped her arms around him, standing on tiptoes to try and reach him more easily. He lifted her up, turning them so that she was against the wall without breaking the kiss. She wrapped her legs around him, one hand on the back of his head pulling him closer to her. She moaned as he ran his hands over her, and they broke apart for a moment as he pulled her shirt over her head, tossing it aside before diving back in to kiss her again. She reached between them, undoing the buttons on his shirt easily, and he was forced to put her down as she pulled it off, throwing it in the same general direction as hers had gone. He moved to kiss her again, but she pushed him back, hard, sending him sprawling onto the bed. She moved to straddle him, pinning his arms above his head, and leaning down to take his bottom lip between her teeth, biting gently and sucking. He moaned softly, the unexpected show of dominance arousing him further. She ground her hips against his, drawing a slight gasp from him, and she moved to his neck, sucking on his adams apple.  
"Have you done this before?" he asked.  
"No," she replied, kissing a trail down his chest, biting one of his nipples and pinching the other as she moved down, her tongue swirling around his navel briefly, before pulling his jeans and boxers off at the same time, freeing his cock. She wrapped her hand around his lenth, stroking him from base to tip, and he moaned deeply at her touch.  
"Is that good? You like that?" she asked quietly, adding a twist to her strokes.  
"Oh yes... Alice..." he moaned her name. She smiled, and bent down, sucking on the sensitive tip as she continued to stroke his shaft. His moans of pleasure became more pronounced as he thrust up towards her slightly, wanting more of her hot, wet mouth around his cock. She slid down, taking more of him in, and he propped himself up on his elbows as she started bobbing on his length, gripping his hips with both of her hands. One of his hands tangled in her hair, and she moaned around him as he pushed her down further along his length, thrusting up at the same time. But through all the pleasure, he still felt a wave of disgust at himself. He was twenty years older than her, and he was holding her in place as he fucked her mouth. But even as that thought was disgusting to him, it sent a thrill through him, the thought that he was doing something that was so forbidden. He knew he should put an end to it. He knew that was what was right. And that this was wrong, so wrong. But god help him, it felt so good.  
He shuddered, and gripped her under her arms, pulling her up and rolling them so he was atop her. He kissed her, tasting himself on her tongue, before pulling back, and meeting her eyes.  
"We can still stop. Before this goes too far," he said seriously.  
She stroked his cheek, smiling. "I don't want to stop. Take me too far if that's what this is. Let's go too far, together. Let's never come back." She leaned up and kissed him, reaching up and pulling her bra off, and taking his hand, laying it on her breast. He stroked her breasts compliantly, moving his mouth down to tease her hard nipples with his tongue, drawing soft mewls of pleasure from her. He slipped a hand into her panties, stroking her entrance and finding that she was wet. He slid a finger into her, and she moaned breathlessly, bucking into his hand desperately. He met her barrier, and drew out, rising off her slightly, and pulling her pants, and then her panties off, leaving them on the floor at the foot of the bed. She parted her legs, and he sank down between them, kissing her again, gently this time, like she was something fragile and he was afraid she would break under him. She kissed him back coaxingly, running one hand up and down his back, the other on the back of his head, scratching lightly. He reached down between them, and guided himself into her, pushing in slowly, caressing her side with one hand, his free arm wrapped around her, pulling her up to him rather than laying his weight down on her. He could feel her heart beating, too quickly it seemed to him. He pushed himself into her more deeply, and she made a small sound of pain as he pushed against her barrier. He stopped moving, and started to draw out of her.  
"Dean, no keep going," she begged.  
"It's going to hurt you," he said.  
"I know. But it's going to happen sometime. I want it to be you," she said. He hesitated for a second longer, before he pushed himself into her quickly, breaking past her barrier easily, and sheathing his entire length in her. She cried out softly, clutching him tightly, squeezing her legs around him, and he moved his free hand to stroke the side of her face, drawing out slightly, before pushing back into her, setting a slow, steady rythym of thrusts. She moaned shakily, her lips finding his again as he groaned, wanting to give up this frustratingly slow pace and pound into her. She was so hot, and wet, and most of all, tight, around him, and he wanted to defile her and make her call out his name in pleasure. She kissed him, the desperation returning to her movements and she matched his thrusts, her hands roaming over him.  
"Dean," she moaned his name loudly, and he thrust more sharply, taking her hands and pinning them above her head as he kissed her hungrily, thrusting more quickly as passion overtook him, driving him near mad with the sensation of being so close to coming, but unable to get enough friction.  
"Dean please!" she begged.  
"Please what?" he rasped, thrusting into her brutally hard.  
"Dean! Dean, faster!" she shouted. He let her hands go, gripping her under her arms and thrusting faster still as the world narrowed down to one basic, animal instinct, to mark her, so that everyone would know she was his, and his alone.  
"Scream my name!" he ordered, gripping her hair tightly.  
"Dean! Oh god Dean, harder!" she screamed. Her fingers dug into his back, and he was sure that her nails must be drawing blood, but he barely registered the pain. He slammed into her one more time, before he cried out in pleasure, his vision going white as he came, collapsing on top of her. They both lay still for a while, skin glistening with sweat, their hearts pounding and their breathing ragged, clutching one another until they calmed. Alice spoke first. "You're bleeding," she said.  
"Where?" he asked, not moving from where he lay, his head resting between her breasts.  
"I scratched you," she said, her tone apologetic. Now that she mentioned it, he could feel pain in his back. He wasn't inclined to worry about it.  
"Oh well," he said drowsily.  
"Are you going to sleep?" she asked, scratching his scalp lightly again. He made a sound close to a purr in response, his eyes closed, and she could tell that he was already half asleep. She reached to the side, pulling the heavy blankets over them, and just laid there for a while, savoring the feeling of his heavy body against hers, his arms around her, the heat from their bodies mingling and warming them both on what would otherwise have been a cold night. She fell asleep smiling.

(1)I call thee, trickster, who doth hold many names. In good faith, I offer this food to you, this as I have worked to serve, and create, with my blood, and my sweat and hard work. Come, I beseech thee. Come to me, I summon thee at this time, in this time of need and urgency that you can apply to place your grace and mercy, and give me grace in your eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

Dean woke first, squinting at the light coming in from the open window. They'd moved during the night, and he was lying on his back, his arms around Alice, who was curled up at his side, her head resting just below his shoulder, were she'd shot him. She looked different somehow. He puzzled over it, before he realized that she was smiling. Not one of the spiteful, cocky smiles that were enough to drive one to murder, but a smile of contentment. And it warmed him to think that he was the one who put that smile there. He reached out, stroking her cheek softly, and she stirred, her eyelids fluttering open, looking a bit confused. She looked up at him, and the confusion disappeared, and she smiled.  
"Hi," she said softly.  
"Hey," he replied, just as quietly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."  
"That's okay," she said, stretching. "I would have had to wake up sometime."  
"And you're glad it was me?" he asked, questioning two things rather than one. She could tell, and drew closer to him, her face inches from his, meeting and holding his eyes.  
"I wouldn't have had it be anyone else," she said. She kissed him, and he returned it, winding the fingers of one of his hands into her hair, his other caressing her. Wrapped up in each other as they were, neither of them heard the click of the key in the lock, or the faint creak as the door opened. And neither of them were aware of Sam, standing frozen in his tracks, staring at them, until he dropped the bag he'd brought back with him, and it clattered on the floor. Both of their heads whipped around, and Sam swallowed, looking at Dean.  
"I'll be out in the hall. We need to talk," he said. He stepped out slowly, closing the door behind him. Alice climbed out of bed, pulling her clothes on as he searched around for his. Neither of them said a word. Dean stepped out into the hallway, barefoot, to see Sam, arms crossed over his chest, a dark look on his face.  
"Sammy, this isn't what it looks like," Dean started.  
"Really?" Sam asked. "Then what is it? Because I would love more than anything if you had an actual explanation for... that," he pointed back into the room.  
Dean didn't know what he could say, so he didn't say anything, and Sam gaped at him for a moment, before shaking his head in disbelief.  
"Dean, do you have any idea how illegal what you just did is?"  
"Oh come on, out of all the illegal things we do, you're going to point this one thing out?" Dean asked.  
"Yeah, Dean. Yeah, I am. What is wrong with you? She is fourteen years old," Sam said, stressing fourteen. Dean spread his arms. "I don't know what to tell you Sammy. It happened. Can we get past it, or are we going to stand around arguing about it all day?" he asked.  
Sam was about to respond, but Alice cleared her throat from the doorway. She handed Dean his shoes and jacket, and gave Sam the bag back.  
"We should really get going," she said, giving Sam a look that dared him to say anything. He didn't look happy, but he kept quiet, and she started down the hall, Dean following her. "So, what did you find?" Alice asked Sam.  
"A chruch," Sam said.  
"Good," Alice said. "I call shotgun." she said. They walked out of the motel, and over to the car they were renting. Alice got in the passengers side, and Sam took the drivers before Dean could get to it, shooting him a significant look. Dean glared at him, but got in the back.  
"So where are we going?" Sam asked, backing out.  
"Wal-mart first. I just need to run in and grab some things," Alice said. Sam nodded, and they drove in silence for a few minutes, before Sam spoke up.  
"Alice, about what happened back there," he started.  
"Sam, it's none of your business," Alice cut him off.  
"It kind of is. You do know that my brother broke laws back there?" Sam asked.  
"Oh here we go," Dean muttered.  
"You're hunters. You break laws every day just to stay alive," Alice pointed out.  
"Yeah, but he didn't have to break that one. Grave desecration, breaking and entering, those are one thing, but what Dean did was practically rape," Sam said. Dean bristled, but Alice spoke before he could.  
"As far as I am aware, rape is nonconsensual sexual activity," Alice said. "But anyone with any experience at all in these things would say that he as taking advantage of you. I don't know if you know this about me, but I studied law. If you're under a certain age, which you are Alice, it doesn't matter if you want to, or if you initiate it, they can still pin him for rape," Sam said.  
"Come on Sam, are they really ever going to catch me? And if they do, do you think I'm going to be in for any length of time?" Dean asked.  
"That's not the point!" Sam said.  
"Yeah? Then what is?" Dean asked loudly.  
"Hey!" Alice glared at both of them. "How old are you two anyway? Stop bickering. Sam, get your god damned nose out of our business, and stop treating me like I'm a kid. I grew up a long time ago. I can think for myself, and I can sleep with or not sleep with whomsoever I desire," she said. "The reason this is all so stupid and pointless is that we would never get caught, for one thing. And if we were, they would never be able to lock us up, or keep us locked up." She eyed them. "At least, not me. You two are so incompetent that maybe you do have to worry about that. And besides, you're leaving. It's not like it's going to be happening again," she finished. No one said anything for the rest of the drive. Sam stopped at a Wal-mart, and Alice went in, coming back out with a box of chocolates.  
The chruch Sam had found was much smaller than the other one they'd summoned the trickster in, and the floors were covered in carpeting. They ripped up a good amount of it, before Alice drew the binding and protective spell. She placed the chocolates and the locket in the outer circle, and stepped into the center circle. She recited the rite for summoning the trickster, who showed immediately. He turned, looking a bit surprised. He spotted the locket on the floor, and raised his eyebrows, picking it and the chocolates up.  
"Well. That was fast," he said. He tucked it into his pocket, and opened the box, popping a chocolate in his mouth.  
"You're got the locket, now send them back," Alice said.  
"Sure, fine. But you have to let me out, because I'm powerless in here," he said, gesturing to the protective circle. Sam stepped forward, wiping away par of the line, and the tricster stepped out, walking towards the Winchesters, his hands outstretched.  
"It might tickle a bit," he said.  
"Wait," Dean said. The trickster stopped, his hand inches away from Deans forehead. "I... I don't want to do this."  
"What?" Sam and Alice said at the same time.  
"Dean, what the hell?" Sam asked. He looked down at his shoes, and didn't reply.  
"Dean, you have to go," Alice said. "You don't belong here."  
"Yeah, well neither do you. You seem to have made yourself perfectly at home," he said.  
"That's different," Alice said. "You have something to go back to."  
"I'm not sure that I do," Dean said.  
"Well, this is quite a change of heart," the trickster said. He looked between Alice and Dean, and then raised his eyebrows. "Seriously? A woman?"  
"Dean, you can't stay here," Sam said.  
"Well, I'm going to," Dean said.  
"And what, leave me on my own?" Sam asked.  
"Yeah, I was under the impression that your fathers dying wish was for you to look after him," Alice said.  
"It was?" Sam asked.  
Dean waved his arms in front of him, as if to ward off all of the reasons to go, and the questions that his actions were raising. "Look, it's my choice, and I'm staying, and it's final," he said.  
"Yeah. About that. I figure that since I sent you back here, I was trying to punish you for something or other," the trickster said. "That means that chances are, I don't like you. So," he reached forward, tapping Dean and Sam before either could react. All three vanished, leaving Alice alone in the emtpy building, unsure whether to be thankful that they'd made it home, or cry because chances were, she would never see either one of them again. She walked out of the church, her mind already moving to other matters. Because it was easier to distract oneself than to face pain.

* * *

Light flashed brightly for a moment, before it died down, leaving Dean and Sam in the middle of a park, surrounded by small children who stopped to gawk at them. Dean didn't see any of them.

"I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch," he growled, stomping away from Sam.  
"Dean, where are you going?" he asked.  
"I'm calling Bobby," he said. "He's got to know something."  
"About what?" Sam asked.  
"I don't know! Either how to get back, or how to find that asshat," he said.  
"Dean, you're not going back," Sam said.  
"The hell I'm not!" he shouted.  
He found a payphone, and dug around in his pockets, fishing out three quarters, and popping them in, and punching Bobby's number into the phone.  
"Hello?" Bobbys voice came.  
"Bobby? I need your help," Dean said.  
"Whoa, Dean? Is that you?" Bobby asked.  
"Yes it's me," Dean said.  
"Where in tarnation have you been the past month? I was looking everywhere for you. And why the hell would you leave your car? Are you okay? Is Sam with you?"  
"It's a long story. Look, we're in..." he looked around, and snagged a passing man.  
"Where are we?" he asked.  
"Main street," the man replied.  
"Don't be stupid," Dean snapped. "Where are we? What town, in what state?"  
"Uh... Roset, Indiana," the man replied. Dean let him go, and gave Bobby the name of the town.  
"We'll probably be in a motel. We'll call you and let you know where," Dean said.  
"Alright. I'd better get some answers from you boys, and they'd better be some derned good ones," Bobby said. He hung up, leaving Dean holding the phone. He hung it back up, and turned to Sam.  
"Come on," he said.  
"Dean, just-"  
"Don't even Sam. Just don't even," he said.

* * *

2 years later

Alice helped Dean up off the ground, smiling. Dean looked her up and down, not knowing what he was feeling. He'd long since given up on ever finding her. He'd moved on.  
"Wow. You've... grown," he said.  
"You look exactly the same as you did the last time I saw you," she said.  
"How- How have you been?" he asked, feeling that it was a rather awkward question.  
"Recently, great. Overall... well, it was hell," she said.  
"I'm sorry," he said. "I did look for you."  
"I figured," she said.  
"You cover your tracks pretty well," he said.  
"I do cover my tracks wonderfully," she said. "But the plain and simple fact is, I haven't left any tracks since 1997."  
"What does that mean?" he asked.  
"It means that I died," she said.  
His eyes immediately flicked over to the table, and his gun, loaded with salt rounds. She laughed.  
"Please don't shoot me," she said. "I'm not going to hurt anyone."  
"You're a ghost," he said.  
"Yeah. And I've actually been on a few hunts since I came back, just to test things out. I have to say, it was pretty fun," she said. She sighed. "I would like to get back to living, beating heart, walking around status though," she said.  
"Wait, how'd you get back in the first place? Did someone trade their soul for you or something?" he asked.  
"No. God, you got even more intelligent since I last saw you," she said. "If someone sold their soul for me, I wouldn't need help getting back into my body, now would I?" "No, I guess you wouldn't," he said. "So how did you get out?"  
"I climbed out," she said. "Someone opened a devils gate. I probably wouldn't even have noticed, but basically everything in hell was running for it at full speed."  
"You were in hell?" he asked.  
"No, I went to heaven," she said, rolling her eyes. "All the things I did in my life? Of course I went to hell. Are you going to help me get back into my body, or not?"  
"How _can_ I help?"  
"Well, the first step would be less to get me into my body. I can do that, no problem. The thing that I've got trouble with is... restoring my body to it's original state," she said. "Ten years in the ground hasn't done it any favors. So will you help me?" she asked.  
He hesitated, thinking for a moment. "Um... you're not going to go berserk or anything, right? You're like Alice the friendly ghost?"  
She sniffed. "It's still me. I'm just as likely to go berserk now as I was when I was alive," she said.  
"Great. Look, I'll do everything I can to help you, but... I don't know if there's anything I can do," he said.  
"Well, just knowing that you're alright makes things better for me," she said.  
"Just don't pop in on me when Sam's around," he said.  
"You think he'll just burn my bones," she said.  
"Yeah,' he said.  
"Hmm. I guess this is our secret then," she said. She flickered, and disappeared from his sight. He sighed, and sat down heavily, reflecting on what had just happened. He must be insane. She was a ghost. He hunted ghosts. But it was still Alice. What was she going to do?  
Honestly, he didn't know. From the time he'd spent with Alice, he'd decided that she was unstable. And a bit crazy. And temperamental. In other words, she was a hunter. He didn't think that she would start randomly killing people.  
What he did know, more than anything else, was that he didn't have a whole lot of time left before he went to hell himself. And maybe, just maybe, she could help him get out of his cross roads deal.


	10. Chapter 10

**Note: Thanks for the reviews :D It really gets me motivated to keep going! I'm sorry I took so long with this chapter, but I had a lot going on. Hopefully the next ones will get on more quickly, lol. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

There was a knock on the door, and Dean peered through the eyehole, seeing it was Sam. He opened it, letting him in, and Sam immediately handed him a bag, containing a packaged slice of pie. "Thanks," Dean said, surprised. He set it down on the nightstand, and flopped down into his bed.  
"Wait, you're not eating it?" Sam asked.  
"I'm saving it," Dean said.  
Sam looked at him a bit oddly, but shruggged. "Okay. Hey, I think I got a case," he said, holding up a newspaper.  
"What kind?" Dean asked.  
"Not really sure. But two people in Dosie Indiana went completely haywire in the past week. One man killed his wife and four kids, and then burnt his house down. He was found wandering around in an empty field a few miles out of town, with no recollection of the past few hours."  
"So nothing too weird. Probably possession," Dean said.  
"No, it gets weirder. The mayor of the town raped his wife, and then threw her off a bridge, before walking into a school with a shotgun and killing twenty people, 18 of which were kids under the age of 14," Sam said. "He was found in his basement, unconscious. Except he claims that he was knocked out by some dude with a russian accent."  
Dean sat up. "Okay, that is weird," he said.  
"The really strange thing is that these guys were both christians. It's the kind of small town where everybody knows everybody else, and everybody says that these are not the kind of people who would do something like this. I mean, between the two of them, there's only on ticket, and it's for speeding," Sam said.  
"Huh. Well, it sounds interesting Sam, but I think you should do this one on your own," Dean said.  
"What?" Sam asked.  
"You should do this on your own. I wanna head over to Bobby's, look something up," Dean said.  
"Okay, let me get this straight. You're jumping out of one of the weirdest cases we've had since the Roman Horse, to do research?" he asked.  
"Yep," Dean said, turning off the lamp and laying back down. Sam reached over and turned it back on.  
"Is something going on that I missed?" Sam asked.  
"What? No. No, Sam," Dean said.  
"You're lying," Sam accused.  
Dean hesitated, before sighing. "Look, it's personal business. It shouldn't take too long at all, but I need to get it done, okay?" he said.  
Sam stared at him for a moment, before Dean turned the light off again.  
"Besides, I don't need your permission," he said.  
Sam shook his head, hoping that whatever was going on, it wasn't something bad.

They set off the next morning, and drove for a day and a half. Sam dropped Dean off at Bobbys, and then went on to Dosie to check out the case. Dean immediately started going through Bobbys extensive library. He didn't know what he was looking for exactly.  
"Do you want help?" Bobby asked him on the second day.  
"Nah, I'm good," Dean said.  
"You sure?" Bobby asked.  
"Certain," Dean said.  
"Alright. Holler if you change your mind," Bobby said, walking away.

"But I already told the police, I don't know anything," Natalie, the Mayors housekeeper told Sam, who was posing as an FBI agent.  
"Are you certain? There wasn't anything out of the ordinary going on around the time the mayor..." Sam trailed off, unsure how to put it delicately enough to keep the woman coherent. She was the kind of red-eyed, frail looking person who would probably burst into tears and become completely unhelpful at the mention of what the mayor had done.  
She shook her head. "No, not at all."  
Sam gorced a smile, knowing he had just exhausted his last lead. "Alright. Thank you for your time," he said, walking away.

Dean, who had fallen asleep on an open book, cried out and was jerked into consciousness by small rock, which had been tossed through an open window and had hit him on the head.  
"What the-" he cut off as another rock flew through the window, missing him completely, and thunking to the ground. He went to the window, to see Alice preparing to throw another rock. She stopped when she saw him, and made a come here motion with her fingers, looking pissed. He started down the stairs, and out of the house, passing Bobby.  
"Find what you were lookin' for?" Bobby asked.  
"No, I just need some air," Dean said, hurrying outside. He saw Alice, and jogged the last few feet to where she was standing.  
"What are you doing in there?" she demanded.  
"I'm trying to find out anything about shoving a ghost back into it's body. Or getting the body back into workable shape," Dean said. "Why were you throwing rocks? One of them hit me you know."  
"I can't get in," she said.  
"Oh. Right, Bobbys charms and stuff," he said.  
"In any case, how are you coming?" she asked.  
"Not good. So far the only thing I've run into that can shove a soul back in it's body, and fix the body, is a cross roads deal," Dean said.  
"Well keep looking," Alice said. "I've got a few theories I'm chasing."  
"Hey, before you go, is there any way I can call you if I need you for something?" Dean asked.  
"Just call my name. If I don't come, it's because I'm busy," she said, before disappearing.  
Slightly puzzled, Dean walked back to the house. He walked in the front door, and was greeted with a shotgun in his face, Bobby holding it.  
"Bobby, what the hell?" Dean asked.  
"What were you talking to out there?" Bobby asked.  
"What? Bobby, I don't-"  
"You were talking with somethin' I couldn't see, which means that you're either crazy, or talking to somethin' that ain't human. You'd better start talking," Bobby said.  
"Look, this is personal," Dean said.  
"I don't give a rats ass. Tell me what the hell it is, and why you're talking to it," Bobby said.  
"It's not dangerous," Dean offered.  
"Bull. It's always dangerous," Bobby said. "What is it?"  
"It's just a hunter," Dean said.  
"Why can't I see it?" Bobby demanded.  
"Because it's dead," Dean said.  
"Then why are you talking to it? Go burn it's bones," Bobby said.  
"I can't," Dean said.  
"Can't, or won't?" Bobby asked, recognizing the look on his face.  
"Both," Dean said. "Look, I don't know where the bones are. And if I did, I'm not going to burn them."  
"Why not? It's dead. Put it to rest," Bobby asked.  
"She's not... restless," Dean said.  
"What the hell are you talking about, of course it's restless! Ghosts are always restless, they come back because they are restless! What's it got you lookin' up in there?" Bobby asked, nodding towards the stairs.  
"You maybe wanna talk this over minus the shotgun?" Dean asked.  
"Not particularly."  
Dean looked at him for a moment, before shrugging, and walking past him. "You're not going to shoot me Bobby. Just don't worry about me. I'm fine, and no one's going to die because of what I'm doing."  
He headed up the stairs, and Bobby watched him go, already reviewing over his options.

Sam was in a diner, trying to figure out what to do next. He'd visited both of the men in jail. Neither of them had anything for him to go on. Ghost possession was still on his list of possibilities, though he thought it was a small chance since there was no Ecto, and no EMF on the guys, in their houses, cars or workplaces. Also no sulpher anywhere, and while that didn't rule out demonic possession, the chances of that being it were slim to none. He'd considered a shifter, but almost all of the shifters he'd run into had killed their vics before walking around as them. Those aside, there were a thousand other things it could possibly be, and at this point, he wasn't even convinced that it was something supernatural. Maybe two guys had just freaked out, and-  
His thoughts were cut short as his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, seeing that it was Bobby, and answered it.  
"Bobby?" he asked.  
"Sam. Where are you?" Bobby asked.  
"Still working on Dosie. I'm not even certain that this is a case anymore," he said.  
"Good. Get your ass down here, something's up with Dean," Bobby said.  
"What?" Sam asked.  
"Not sure exactly. Besides the fact that he's doing research on his own, he's talking to somethin' that I can't see," Bobby said.  
"Right. I'm coming," Sam said. He hung the phone up, and stood, paying the bill, before walking out of the diner to his car.

Dean was back to researching. He wasn't sure what else to do. He knew that Bobby wasn't just going to sit around and do nothing after he'd caught him talking to Alice, and that he would probably call Sam, but there wasn't much he could do about it. He couldn't cut and run, because Bobbys was hands down the best place to research just about anything you could think of.  
He was in the middle of some sort of egyptian embalming guide, when someone knocked on the door frame. He looked up, to see Sam in the doorway.  
"Sam. I thought you were on a hunt," Dean said, surprised.  
"Yeah, it was bogus. Just some guys went off their rockers," Sam said. "Whatcha doing?"  
"Researching," Dean said truthfully, going back to the book and hoping Sam would go away. Instead, he walked over, and peeked over Deans shoulder.  
"Mummification? That's what you're researching?" Sam asked.  
"What can I say? It's more interesting that you would think," Dean said. "Gross. But still..." he trailed off as Sam sat in the seat across from him, leaning forward and just looking at him, not blinking. A moment passed, before Dean started getting a bit uncomfortable.  
"What?" he demanded.  
Sam shook his head, sitting back. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" he asked.  
"Tell you what?" Dean asked.  
"Whose ghost you're chatting with," Sam said. "Bobby says he caught you talking to the ghost of some hunter. Who is it?"  
"No one," Dean said. "Just some... guy."  
"Just some guy? Why is he talking to you?" Sam asked.  
"Well... uhm... he got killed on a hunt," Dean lied, thinking quickly. "And... the thing that got him is still out there. He isn't entirely sure what it is, but he wants my help ganking it."  
"Right," Sam said.  
"Look, Sam, he says he'll tell me where his bones are, and I can burn them after it's dead," Dean said, growing more confident with the lie.  
"Uh huh. What if he goes vengeful spirit?" Sam asked.  
"Uh... well since I don't know where his bones are, there's not a whole lot I can do besides kill the thing, and then put him to rest after," Dean said.  
"I thought you didn't even know what it was," Sam said.  
"I don't. You know, after I find out what it is. And then put him to rest," Dean said.  
"Okay. Tell me what you know, and I'll help you look," Sam said.  
"Uh... he said it was pink," Dean said.  
"Pink?" Sam questioned.  
"Yeah. It was pink, and fuzzy, and it had horns and... bad breath. Yeah, he said the breath was what got him," Dean said.  
Sam looked at him for a moment, before shaking his head. "Is that all?" he asked.  
"Uh... Yeah, that's all he remembers," Dean said.  
"Okay," Sam said, standing, and heading off to the other wall, going through books. "You know, I already went through most of those. Maybe you should start in the room all the way at the end of the hall," Dean said. "We can meet in the middle."  
Sam left the room without saying a word, and Dean had to bite his lip to keep from bursting out laughing, sure that Sam would chase himself around in circles for days on end trying to find a creature that fit that description. He went back to the research he was doing for Alice, hoping that he'd bought himself enough time to find something useful.

A week passed, and Dean didn't hear anything from Alice. He also didn't find anything of any use at all(Though Sam did, surprisingly enough, have a few theories on creatures fitting Deans description, the only inconsistency being that none of them were pink). He was downstairs, grabbing a beer, when he saw Alice waving at him through the window. He left the beer in the fridge, and went out to her.  
"Alice. Have you got anything?" he asked.  
She shook her head. "No. Look, Dean, I... you can stop looking," she said.  
"What? Why?" Dean asked.  
"Because I doubt there's anything out there that could help me, and even if there were... I found my body," she said.  
"Isn't that good? Now we have something to work with if I do find something," Dean said.  
"It was burned. Not buried, burned. There's nothing left to work with Dean," she said.  
Dean was silent as he processed that information. He opened his mouth, about to suggest a crossroads deal, before realizing that he'd already sold his soul. That wasn't an option. It faintly registered with him that he should maybe tell her about that, but it didn't seem relevant at the time.  
"We can- We'll find something," he said.  
Alice shook her head, smiling. "No Dean. It's okay. I had a life. And it was enough. Now... I don't know. I guess I'm a bit stuck. But it'll be okay. I'll figure something out. Maybe it'll take me a few hundred years, but I've got unlimited time on my hands. You go, and you live a life."  
"Alice-" he wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure what to say. He'd known her for a short time years ago. The way in which they'd parted had left too many loose ends for him to really know what he felt for her now any better than he had when he'd first met her. "I'm sorry," he finally said.  
"Don't be. I'll be fine. And besides, you know me," she said, smiling playfully. "The last thing I'm ever going to want is pity." She disappeared, a faint breeze blowing the dirt in circles at his feet. He stood there for a moment, before shaking his head, and turning, walking back into the house. Sam was sitting at the table, sipping a beer and looking at a book. He looked up when Dean walked in, and broke out in a grin.  
"Hey, I found it. Pink fuzz and all," he said. He held up the book, and Dean saw a full color depiction of a tall, pink, fuzzy creature with horns and yellow smog floating out of it's mouth. He shook his head.  
"Forget about it Sammy. It's over," he said. He grabbed a beer for himself, and sat down. Sam was going to question why, but he could tell from the look on Deans face that he wouldn't get anything out of him.  
They sat in silence for a few minutes, and Bobby left, heading out for food. A few seconds later, Sam's phone rang, breaking the silence. He picked it up.  
"Hello?" he asked. He paused, frowning, before standing. "Wait a moment, calm down, what happened?" he asked. He paused again, and Dean stood, wondering what was going on. "Okay. I'm on my way," Sam said. He hung up, and turned to Dean. "That was Natalie, the uh... the housekeeper of one of the guys who went nuts in Dosie. She says that she knows what happened to them, but that she can't talk about it over the phone."  
"Great. Let's go," Dean said, grabbing his jacket and heading out the door, leaving his beer on the table. Sam grabbed a pen and paper, leaving a note for Bobby telling him where they'd gone(So he wouldn't assume that some monster had eaten them), before heading out after Dean.


	11. Chapter 11

Sam rang the doorbell to Natalies house, and waited. A moment later, it cracked open, and Natalie peeked out, her eyes settling on Dean. "Who's he?" she asked Sam, so softly he had to strain to hear her.  
"It's okay, he's my partner," Sam said. Dean smiled at her, and she hesitated for a moment longer, before opening the door just wide enough to let them in, and closing it behind them. She locked it, while Sam and Dean looked around, stunned by the house they'd just walked into. When Sam had last been here, it had been very neat, very organized, and very clean. Now, the walls were covered in graffiti, the furniture had been pushed against the walls, some of it turned upside down or at angles, and there was a circle of silver jewelry in the center of the room. There was a box full of knives in the circle.  
"Natalie, what's going on?" Sam asked.  
"Look, Agent, I swear I'm not crazy," she said.  
"Don't worry. Whatever it is, you can tell me. I'll believe you," Sam said.  
"First show me your arms," she said.  
Sam and Dean looked at one another, puzzled, and then back at her.  
"What? Why?" Dean asked.  
"Just do it, please," she said.  
"Um... okay," Sam said. He rolled up his sleeves, and looked at Dean. Dean frowned, but complied, rolling his sleeves up. Natalies reaction would have been funny if it weren't quite so dangerous. Her eyes widened, and she darted to the side, shrieking to stand in the center of the jewelry circle. She pulled a knife out of the box, holding it out in front of her with both hands. "HE'S ONE OF THEM, HE'S ONE OF THEM," she screamed, sobbing at the same time.  
"Whoa, what the-"  
"DON'T COME NEAR ME! I'LL KILL YOU!" she shrieked, cutting Dean off.  
"Wait, Natalie, just calm down," Sam said, stepping in front of Dean.  
"NO! HE'S ONE OF THEM!" she screamed.  
"Whatever you think he is, he isn't," Sam said.  
"No, I know. I can tell. YOU CAN'T FOOL ME YOU BASTARD!" she screeched at Dean. "YOU CAN FOOL ALL THE REST OF THEM, BUT YOU CAN'T FOOL ME! I KNOW! I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE! WHAT YOU DID!" she started sobbing so hard that her entire body was shaking, and she was clutching the knife so hard that her knuckles were white.  
"Natalie, what do you think he is?" Sam asked.  
"I d-don't think! I kn-know what he is! But it isn't human," she said, barely able to speak through her tears.  
"Okay. Why don't you just take a moment, and calm down. Dean, would you go outside?" Sam asked.  
"Yeah. I think I'll do that," Dean said. He unlocked the door and went out, closing it behind him.  
"Lock it," Natalie said, not moving from inside the circle.  
"Okay," Sam said. He locked the door, and started walking closer to her. "Why don't you put the knife down Natalie?" he asked.  
Her lower lip trembled, and her eyes darted around the room, but she nodded, and sat down on the floor, putting the knife down next to her.  
"Now, what do you think my partner is?" he asked.  
"I don't know exactly. But they're the ones doing it. I know they are," she said.  
"How?" Sam asked.  
"Have you read the paper?" she asked. Sam shook his head, and she started shaking again, tears streaming down her face as she started sobbing uncontrollably.  
"MY SON! THEY- OH GOD, MY SON!" she wailed. She buried her face in her hands, and Sam reached for her, patting her back to try and comfort her as best as he could.  
"Natalie? Tell me what happened to your son," he said.  
"They- They- They-" she took a breath, trying to steady herself a bit, though she was still shaking with silent sobs. "He- he was in his r-r-r-room. I-I was out sh-sh-sh-opping, and I came h-h-h-home, and there was this- this THING in the room with him, and it was-"  
"What was it?" Sam asked.  
"It wasn't human Agent. I-I know it sounds crazy. But it wasn't human. It didn't have any SKIN. I couldn't scream, I was so scared, and I could't move. But it- it turned into my son, and it turned- It had- it had-" she broked down again, and Sam just waited for her to calm down a bit before he tried again.  
"What did it have?" he asked, though he already knew that it was a shifter.  
"Three cuts. One on each of it's arms. Just like- Like your partners," she said. "I-I punched it, in the face. It burned where I touched it, and screamed, and ran out. I-I figured out that- that silver. They don't like silver. It-it hurts them."  
"Natalie, where's your son now?" he asked.  
Natalie started shaking again, but Sam gripped her shoulders, forcing her to look at him.  
"Natalie, I know you're scared. But you need to calm down, and you need to focus. Where's your son?" he asked.  
"It-it took him," she said, her voice barely more than a harsh whisper. "It took him. And I- I didn't stop it. I should- I should stopped it." She fell to the floor again as he let her go, sobbing again.  
"Okay. Okay, I'm going to get your son back. The thing that took him, I know what it is. And I know how to beat it. You just... you stay here, and keep the doors locked," Sam said. She didn't respond, just kept sobbing, and he made his way to the door, walking outside. Dean was waiting by the car.  
"What's her deal?" he asked.  
"Let me see your arms," Sam said.  
"Come on Sam, you know that whatever she's going on about, I can't be one of 'them'. I've been over at Bobbys the past week," Dean said.  
"I don't think you are, but from what I got out of her, a shifter took her son. And apparently, even though he changed shapes, he still had the three cuts on his arms, just like you, and just like... just like Alice Smith," Sam said.  
"Are you getting at something?" Dean asked.  
"I don't know. But I'm thinking that maybe Alice has something to do with this case," Sam said.  
"She can't have," Dean said.  
"You can't know that. We haven't seen her in years, and for her, it's been like, fifteen years. That's enough time for all sorts of things to happen," Sam said.  
"Well, I know it's not her, for a fact," Dean said.  
"How could you possibly-"  
"Because she's dead Sam!" Dean said sharply. Sam stared at him for a moment, absorbing that information. The pieces started clicking together in his head as Dean moved over to the other side of the car, about to get in.  
"The ghost. That wasn't some random hunter was it. That was Alice. Embalming... you were trying to find a way to bring her back," he said. "How did she come back in the first- Did you do something?" he asked.  
"No, Sam. She just- she came back on her own. I was trying to find some way to get her back into her body," Dean said.  
"You should have just told me," Sam said.  
"I couldn't. You would've just been going on about burning her bones," Dean said.  
"Well that's what you should have done," Sam said.  
"Well, smartypants, I couldn't have. She was already burned," Dean said.  
Sams brow knitted in confusion. "Then how'd she come back?" he asked.  
"The devils gate. Apparently Dad wasn't the only human soul that made it out," Dean said.  
"Alice was in hell?" Sam said. He snorted. "Yeah, I guess I shouldn't be surprised," he said under his breath, too low for Dean to hear. "Whatever. In any case, I need to see the cuts. Maybe it's not directly connected to Alice, but it must have something to do with that mind-torture she did on you when you were possessed," he said, getting in the car. Dean got in on the drivers side, and sighed, shaking his head, but rolling his sleeves up and showing Sam his arms. The cuts he'd received were still open. They healed, but as soon as the scars started to fade, he would wake up with his shirt sleeves soaked in blood, the cuts mysteriously reopened. They'd puzzled over it for a while, but couldn't figure out what she'd done. It didn't look like it was any spell, and they hadn't been able to think of what else it might have been, so they'd dropped it. Looking at them now, Sam could see that there might be(There most probably was) a connection between these cuts, that never healed, but he didn't know what it was.  
"So. Any epic connections being made?" Dean asked.  
"No," Sam said. He leaned back in his seat, and Dean rolled his sleeves up. "Okay then. Let's track this thing."

Sam went back into the house, past a now calmed down Natalie, and into her sons room. She wouldn't go with him, and he thought that was probably better anyway. He didn't find anything worthy of note(Other than a pile of skin that is), and left, heading back to the hotel room where Dean was trying to find connections between the vics.  
"Got anything?" Sam asked, walking through the door.  
"Nope. Besides Natalie being Mayor Fullmans maid, there is absolutely no connection," Dean said.  
"There has to be something," Sam said.  
"I guess. Why don't you pull up a chair and help me look?" Dean asked.  
Sam did, hoping that they could find something in time to help Natalies kid.

It was around three in the morning, and Sam had passed out a long time ago. Dean was barely holding onto consciouness himself, going through various new articles concerning the mayor, since he was the one in the public eye. He shivered, and then yawned, too tired to notice when his breath came out in a puff of mist.  
"Boo," a voice said softly from behind him. He jumped adrenaline flooding his system and jerking him wide awake. "Jesus, calm down," the voice said from his side. "It's just me."  
"Alice?" he asked. He looked in the direction that her voice had come from. "Where are you?"  
"Shh," she said, and he could feel a cold breeze close to his ear. "Don't wake Sammy."  
"I'm the only one who gets to call him Sammy," Dean said, though he spoke much more softly. "What brings you back here?"  
"I never left," she said.  
"Oh. Why not?" he asked, confused.  
"Oh, I don't know she said. He felt something cold against his chest, as well as light pressure. "To try and keep you two clowns out of serious trouble I suppose."  
"Is that- Are you touching me?" he asked as the cold moved, brushing over his nipples and leaving them erect.  
She hummed softly. "Maybe," she said. He felt what he could have sworn was lips against his neck, and moaned softly as what he assumed was one of her hands caressed the inside of his thigh. He shook his head, trying to clear it.  
"Alice, we can't do this," he said.  
"We did before," she said. "And I daresay I'm almost as old as you this time." She chuckled. "Besides, you can't touch me. I can touch you, if I try, but you would go right through me."  
"No, that's not why. I'm working now," he said, moving to get up. She pulled him back down into the chair, and he felt her hands drifting all over him, holding him back.  
"And you're not getting much of anywhere," she mused. "But I'll tell you what. If let me play with you, I'll tell you everything you want to know. What the connections between the vics is, because there is one. If you're very good, I might even tell you exactly where the shifter's hiding out," she said.  
"You know where he is?" Dean asked.  
"Hmm-hmm," she hummed.  
"Alice just tell me now. He has-"  
"The housekeeper's son? Don't worry, if he was in any immediate danger I wouldn't be fooling around with you like this."  
Dean exhaled, partly annoyed, and partly aroused.  
"Just to make sure, when you say play with me, you don't mean tying my guts in knots or anything, right?" he asked.  
"No, I think you're confusing me with a vengeful spirit," she said.  
"So far that's just about the only kind I've run into," he said.  
"Well, saying as I have nothing to punish for my death, I suppose I'm just... drifting," she said.  
"What's it like?" he asked.  
"Indescribable. It's not a feeling that you can put into words. What would you say if I asked you how it felt being flesh and blood?" she asked.  
He shrugged. "The same thing you just did, I guess," he said.  
"Well, there you have it," she said.  
"But that isn't exactly what I meant. You've been flesh and blood too. Which is better, would you say?" he asked.  
She considered a moment before answering. "I'm not sure. They're different from one another. I wouldn't say I truly like on better than the other." She paused. "To tell the truth, I've forgotten what it's like, having a flesh and blood body. For a very long time, I was-" she cut off. "There are worse things than being a ghost," she finished.  
"You mean hell?" he asked.  
"Hmm," was all she said, but he knew that it was a yes.  
"I'm sorry if it's touchy for you, but... what was it like... downstairs?" he asked.  
"Well. It was hell. Shall we just say that it was... well, the rumours don't quite do the place justice," she said.  
He shuddered involuntarily, and the cold retreated from him. "In any case, I suppose you'll be wanting to hear about this shifter," she said. A chair scraped across the floor, seeming to pull itself up to the table, before stopping. Sam jerked awake at the noise, and looked around.  
"Dean? Did you find anything?" he asked.  
"No. Your brother found a total of nothing, point nothing," Alice said. Sams eyes were drawn to where she was sitting cross-legged in the chair that she'd pulled up. He started, and she smiled.  
"Hey Sam. Been a while, huh?" she asked.  
"Alice," he said. "I uh... I heard about you," he said.  
"You mean you heard I was dead?" she asked. "Go ahead and be blunt with me. I hate it when people try to spruce things up so they look better than they actually are."  
"Okay. I heard that you died," he said.  
"That's better. Well, I have observed you two, sitting around, and basically getting nowhere all day long. In fact you," she pointed at Dean. "Passed up all the info that you needed."  
"Will you quit gloating or whatever the hell it is you're doing, and just tell us where the shifter and the kid are?" Dean asked.  
"Hmmf. Don't you want to know what you passed up?" she asked.  
"Not really," he said.  
"Well, I'm going to tell you anyway, 'cause I want to," she said. She leaned forward, and pulled his computer closer to her, opening his history, and opening a news article, before pushing the computer back so both of the boys could see.  
"Mayor fires campaign manager Gerald Brontley only weeks before upcoming election," Sam read. "The campaign manager is the shifter?" he asked.  
"No, though it would immediately seem that way. But what would Gerald have against the first victim, Tommy Gorder?" she asked. "Nothing. No, the big tell was that the shifter went for Miss Seigres son. Her son, who just happens to be one of the more popular kids at school."  
"Are you saying some kid's doing this?" Dean asked.  
"Yep. More specifically, Danny Brontely," she said. "Kid with straight A grades, and an affinity for science. He's the type that I wouldn't be surprised if he thought he can shift because of a poisonous spider bite. Probably bullied by that housekeepers son, the mayor fired his father, and it just so happens that Mr Tommy Gorder ran his dog over a month ago."  
"Okay, you're very clever," Dean said. "Now will you tell us where he is?"  
"Whew you're appreciative aren't you. Fine. There's an old abandoned, and if you believe the local rumors, haunted, house on Trident and Flouret ave," she said.  
"Right. Let's go. Sam, have you got a map?" Dean said, standing and grabbing his duffel off the bed.  
"Yeah," he said. "One more thing Alice. Remember the time Dean was possessed?" he asked.  
"All to well," she said.  
"And you... I don't even know what you did. But it gave him those cuts on his arms-"  
"Oh, Torxing?" she asked.  
"Torxing? What is that?" Sam asked.  
"It's a torture done to the soul. It isn't magic, just a feat of mental will. Of course, you need to connect with your victim before you actually are able to do it, but still. In any case, your brother was fortunate in that I was really directing it at the demon inhabiting him. I suppose you still have those cuts?" Alice asked, looking at Dean. He nodded.  
"I am sorry about that. It leaves physical marks on the being that it's done too that will heal, but always return. Even when you don't have a physical form, they stay," she said. She rolled up her own sleeve, baring three cuts, though they were almost heal in contrast to Deans almost fresh wounds.  
"The shifter, Danny Brontely, he has those same marks," Sam said.  
"That's interesting. But not truly relevant since almost anyone with the mental strength and will to inflict that much pain can do it. Unfortunately, such individuals are quite common in the world," Alice said. "Right. Well thanks for explaining that. Now how about we get going before Danny decides to get nasty with Natalies son?" Dean asked.  
Sam stood, and grabbed his coat. "Sure," he said. Alice stood as well.  
"Well, I'm coming," she said.  
"No, you aren't," Sam said, putting his hand in his coat pocket.  
She turned to him. "It isn't up for discussion Sammy. Besides, I'm useful to you," she said.  
"You're right. It isn't up for discussion," Sam said. He brought his hand out of his pocket, and hurled something at Alice. She disappeared, and three iron nails dropped to the floor.  
"Sam, what the hell?" Dean demanded.  
He retrieved the nails, and the straightened. "The last thing we need is a ghost along with us on a hunt Dean," he said.  
"But she could have helped," Dean protested.  
"Right. If her bones weren't already burnt, that would be our next case, and you know it," Sam said. "You had... something with her, I get it. But she's dead Dean. Haven't we learned by now that it's best if the dead stay that way?" he asked.  
Dean didn't respond, and Sam walked out the door, heading for the car. Dean followed after a few moments. Sam asked a man for directions, and they headed off. It was readily apparent which house was the one they were looking for.

Alice sat in the backseat of the impala as they drove. She had to admit, it was one of the coolest cars she'd ever seen. But at the moment, that was the last thing on her mind. She was glaring at the back of Sams head, cursing him in every langauge she knew(and she knew quite a few). The iron didn't hurt her, per say, but it weakened her. These idiots were heading into a hunt, and hunting something that was dangerous at that, and she couldn't even lift a thimble in her current state. Damn fool.  
"Whoa. I bet that thing is haunted," Dean said as they pulled up to the house. "Sam, after we kill this shifter, we should go back in with the salt and EMF meters."  
"After," Sam said. He got out of the car, going back around to the trunk, and opening it, pulling out guns loaded with silver bullets. She rolled her eyes, and tried to calm herself, and reached for a silver knife. Her hand went straight through though, and connected with some bit of extraneous iron in the trunk. She yelped as she felt herself losing form again.  
Deans head shot up, and he looked around.  
"What is it?" Sam asked.  
"Nothing. I thought I heard something," Dean said. "Let's go kill this bastard."  
They closed the trunk, and headed for the house, treading lightly. Alice followed along after them, but Sam closed the gate behind them. She stopped when she came to it. Iron. Damn this could be a pain in the ass sometimes. She went around, looking for anyway in. The property was huge though, and it looked like almost all of it was closed in with iron fencing. She heard shouts, and gunshots from inside, and quickened her pace, hoping that it was unnecessary, but unwilling to take a chance.  
"God damn it, why couldn't it have been some stupid ticki-tacki property?" she growled. She kept going for an indeterminate amount of time, though it felt like hours to her, walking a good distance into the woods that were behind and a part of the property, until she finally found a break in the fence.  
"Thank everything with an ear to hear," she muttered. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she was in what she supposed had once been the living room.  
"Dean?" she called, before remembering that he couldn't hear her. She stepped forward, looking around as she entered a hall. It was too quiet in here. Much too quiet. She stood still, and listened, until she heard voices. She followed them, into the kitchen, and down a flight of stairs into the basement. She was almost tripped up by an iron pot, but managed to dodge it in time. As she went down the stairs, she could make out what they were saying.  
"You don't know what you're doing," Dean said. She got to the bottom of the stairs, and saw him and another boy(Probably the housekeepers son) hanging from chains. Sam was unconscious on the floor, just tied up. She thought that Danny had probably run out of chains. "You can still stop this before you really hurt anyone," Dean said.  
"I don't care about hurting people," Danny, wearing his natural form, said. "I killed a school full of innocent people. And you know how much I care? Not in the least," he said.  
"You don't mean that kid," Dean said. "You aren't a monster."  
"Really? 'Cause Ben seems to think differently," Danny said, nodding towards the housekeepers son. "Isn't that what you've been calling me all these years? Freak. Worthless. Insignificant. Of course you don't even know what the word insignificant means, do you, you dumbass," Danny said. Alice was standing right behind him. She reached for him, but her hands went straight through him. She cursed Sam, but none of them could hear her. She took a breath, trying to calm down and focus so that she could knock this kid out, and- And then what? Those chains were iron. Oh right though, Sam wasn't chained up. That was something, at least. She concentrated on Danny, and tried to punch him, to no avail  
"Please, Danny, I'm sorry," Ben said. "I didn't mean any of it. Not really. I was just playing around," he said.  
"Yeah? I almost killed myself idiot. That's how low you got me. That what your playing around almost did. You would have been a murderer then. How would that have felt?" Danny asked.  
"Please-"  
"SHUT UP!" Danny yelled.  
"Look, Danny- it's Danny, right? Did it ever occur to you that maybe you're not a freak? Or a monster? Maybe you've got... superpowers. Maybe you're supposed to be a hero, and save people instead of killing them," Dean said.  
"Yeah. Well, how much recognition do heroes get anyways?" Danny asked. "Not very much."  
"That is true," Dean said. "Trust me, I know. But it's worth it. There's this feeling you get every time you save someone, or make the world a bit safer. It's the best feeling there is."  
"That's bullshit. How would you know anyways?" Danny asked.  
"Well, I came here hunting you, didn't I? That's what I do. I save people," Dean said.  
"Well you suck at it," Danny said. Alice swung at him again and again, but she still wasn't even disturbing the air around him.  
"Maybe I do. But think about it Danny, do you really want to be the thing I would hunt? Do you want to be the monster?" Dean asked.  
Danny punched him, and grabbed a handful of his shirt. "You know what? I do. 'Cause I don't know what it feels like saving people or shit, but I do know what it's like to hurt them." He pulled out a knife, holding it to Deans throat. "And I know that I love the feeling," he said.  
Desperate now, Alice acted on instincts that she hadn't even known existed. She launched herself at Danny, colliding with him, and merging with him.

Danny straightened suddenly, so he was stiff as a rod, eyes wide, face turned up to the roof. He dropped the knife, and choked a bit, before bending over, and gasping.  
"Oh crap. What the hell?" he said. Dean watched, pulling against the chains as Danny straightened, holding his hand out in front of him and flexing it. "Oh how cool is that?" he asked. He looked up at Dean, and grinned.  
"Hey Dean, look, I'm a boy," Danny said.  
Deans brow furrowed in confusion at the sudden statement. "Uh... does that change your attitude towards killing people?" he asked.  
Danny started laughing. "Oh no, Dean, you don't understand. It's me, Alice," he said.  
Deans eyes widened as he looked at Danny(or Alice). "What the-" he trailed off, at a loss for words.


	12. Chapter 12

"Alice? What the hell?" Dean asked, staring at her.  
"What? What's going on?" Ben asked, even more confused than Dean was. Alice winced.  
"Ew, I've got zits. Damn. Oh wait," she said.  
"Are you- You're possessing him?" Dean asked.  
"Yeah. Oh wait a moment, this is cool," she said. Her face scrunched up painfully, and she arched her back. "Oh, crap that's painful," she said. She spat, and a few teeth fell onto the floor, along with some blood. Dean watched, eyes wide as she proceeded to take her clothes off, looking away when they were gone. He heard her groaning, and occasionally screeching, and the sickening sound of skin hitting the floor.  
"Whoa, dude, you're naked," Ben said. "And you're a hot chick."  
"Avert your eyes pervert," Alice scolded, though she was grinning, having shifted into... well, herself. She put Dannys clothes back on, for lack of anything else, and straightened. "How do I look?" she asked Dean. He looked her over, but didn't say anything.  
"Come on Dean, I need input," she said.  
"Uh... I think your hair's a bit darker than it should be," he said.  
"So I look great," she said. She walked over to Sam, and slapped his face ligtly.  
"Sam! Wake up!" she said. He stirred, and she kept slapping him for a few moments, until his eyes snapped open.  
"Alice! Dean, the shifter-"  
"Relax," she said. "I took care of it." She untied him, and pointed at Dean and Ben. He stood a bit shakily, and picked the locks on the chains holding them up. Ben dropped to the floor, but stood quickly, bolting up the stairs, and out into the house without saying a word. Alice looked after him for a moment, before turning back to Sam and Dean, who were both looking at her cautiously. Her eyes were drawn to the chain in Sams hand. She looked back up at him, becoming serious. "Don't do it Sam," she warned.  
He looked at her for a moment, before he dropped the chain to the floor. He pointed at Alice. "Those are the shifters clothes," he observed. Alice shrugged.  
"Hey, I don't think anyone can complain about this," she said. She winced slightly. "Except Danny. But he doesn't really get a say in the matter," she said.  
"So what are we going to do with him?" Dean asked.  
"What do you mean?" Alice asked.  
"Well you can't stay in there forever," Dean said.  
"Why not?" Alice asked, putting her hands on the hips that she was determined would now be hers. "The way I see it," I'm killing two birds with one stone here. Dangerous shifter is out of the way, and I get a body. Guess what that means? I can start hunting again." She paused, considering. "It's going to be really convenient to be a shifter and a hunter at the same time."  
They stared at her for a moment, and she could tell they were trying to find a reason against it. Finally, she nodded.  
"Yep. I'm keeping Danny," she said.  
"How can you be a hunter of you're allergic to silver and iron?" Dean asked.  
"I'll work it out," Alice said. She started up the stairs. "Let's get going before Ben gets home and calls the cops," she said. Dean and Sam followed her out of the house. She stopped at the gate, and Sam held it open for her as they walked out. The drove to the hotel in silence. Dean was a bit disconcerted with how quickly the situation had developed. All he could see were good things coming from this. Alice was right. She had a body, there was one less monster in the world, and now she could hunt down more. But something about it made him feel uneasy. He couldn't quite place what it was. He'd long since discovered that such feelings really shouldn't be ignored, but what was he going to do? Kill her? He didn't know if he was capable of it.  
They reached the motel, and Sam cleared his throat when they parked.  
"Look, why don't you two go on in. I've got a few errands to run still," Sam said.  
"What errands?" Dean asked.  
"Uh... well I was going to check up on Natalie, make sure her son gt back to her safely and all that. Tell her that the shifter is..." he trailed off, looking back at Alice. "I'll just tell her we took care of it," he finally decided.  
Dean shrugged, tossing him the keys, before stepping out of the car, and slamming the door behind him. Sam waited until he and Alice were both in the motel room, before putting the keys in the glove compartment, and going to lay down in the backseat. He thought that Alice and Dean probably had catching up to do, and he didn't want to get in their way. He was less than happy with a few things. Alice had come back from the dead, and then possessed a shifter. He was trying to wrap his head around this, and no matter how many times he tried to tell himself that it was Alice, and he could trust her, he knew who Alice Smith was. As far as he knew, she could switch sides faster than he could blink. He sighed, and settled down in the back seat, figuring he would sleep on it, and figure it out in the morning.

Alice caught sight of herself in the mirror as Dean headed into the bathroom. She walked over to it, and bent in close, examining herself. She knew her physical form pretty well, and everything looked right to her. She patted her cheek, smiling at the sensation of flesh meeting with flesh. It was one that she'd forgotten. She ran her tongue over her teeth, bit her lip, and tugged on her hair. She had no trouble at all believing that she finally had a corporeal body again, but she found it very enjoyable to perform these very basic actions that you really couldn't as a ghost or a spirit in hell. She caught sight of Dean in the mirror, watching her from the doorway, and straightened, turning to face him.  
"Enjoying yourself?" he asked, sounding amused.  
"While I still can," she said. He moved to sit in one of the chairs around the table, where their computers were still sitting open. "I haven't asked yet, have I? How you've been the past few years?" she asked.  
He shrugged. "Could have been worse I guess. No one died," he said. He realized even before he said it that it was a lie.  
"Well, that's always good," she said.  
"You know, I would ask you what it's like in there, but I'm pretty sure that you would just tell me it's indescribable," he said.  
"Wow. For once, you're actually right," she said, laughing.  
He rolled his eyes, chuckling softly. "You really didn't change that much, did you?" he asked.  
"Neither did you," she said, sitting in the chair across from him. "But then, I've always thought that people only change if they're unhappy with what they are."  
"So you're perfectly at peace with yourself?" he asked.  
"No. But I feel... free, in a way. I've been punished for every bad thing I ever did. I don't know if I've got a clean slate or not, but I'd like to think that I do." She smiled.  
"Hmm. Must be nice," he said.  
"In most ways. But I doubt that the powers that be are going to let me off that easily. I'll probably go right back downstairs when I kick it again," she said.  
"Well, there's an easy solution to that," Dean said.  
"If you say don't die, I'll bite you," she said.  
"Sounds like fun," he shot back.  
She raised her eyebrows. "Sam probably won't be gone too long," she said.  
"He's not going anywhere in the first place," Dean said.  
"Oh really?" Alice asked.  
"Yeah. He doesn't give a crap about the housekeepers kid," he said. He got up, parting the curtains slightly, and Alice joined him, peeking out to see that not only was the Impala still in the parking lot, but she could see Sams feet propped up against the window.  
"Sly dog," she said.  
"We do have catching up to do though," Dean said, moving closer to her. She ignored the fluttering in her chest, and the sense of wonder that she could feel that fluttering, instead smiling and closing the curtain as he wrapped his arms around her.  
"You know, I think we do," she said. He kissed her, and she wound her arms around him, pulling him closer to her and pressing back. She moaned softly against him, feeling his hardness through his jeans, and herself responding to it. He slipped a hand up her shirt, and it wasn't until she felt his warm touch against her that she realized that she was cold. Not quite as cold as when she had been a spirit with no body, but still a bit colder than was usual for a person. She was surprised to find that she was a bit saddened by this. She didn't know why. It must have been the time in hell. It must have softened her.  
She shook herself mentally, and turned them, not breaking the kiss until she fell back onto the bed. He didn't follow her immediately, but reached for her(Technically Dannys) belt, and undoing it, pulling it and the oversized pants off of her.  
"Get down here," she growled, pulling him down next to her and moving to straddle him. He watched her as she pulled her shirt off, placing his hands on her hips, licking his lips as he looked her over. She kissed him again, and he bucked his hips up towards her, dragging a desperate moan from her. She broke away from him, pulling his shirt off, and interrupting his efforts to get his belt undone. She finished the job for him, pulling his pants from him and leaving them both naked. It was his turn to moan as she slid down over him, gripping his shoulders to steady herself as she ground against him, moaning her own pleasure. He sat up, keeping her in his lap and kissing her as he wound his arms around her, letting her do the thrusting. She bit his collarbone lightly, and he shuddered, retaliating with a nip to her jaw, close to her ear. She moaned his name, and he flipped them, taking over the thrusting. Their legs tangled together, and he leaned down, kissing her breasts and licking over her nipples. He took one in his mouth, sucking it, and she brought one of her legs up, hooking it around him, and pressing, moaning in satisfaction as she pushed him into her more deeply. He quickened his pace, kissing her, their tongues tangling as they moved together, sweat and spit mingling, and if anyone had been watching, they wouldn't have been able to tell where Alice ended and Dean began.  
Alice wasn't sure if they moved together for a few seconds, or for an eternity. All she did know what that she didn't want it to end. Less because of the pleasure he brought her, but more because this was so different, and so much better than hell. She could easily have believed that it was heaven, even after they were both spent, and lying agianst one another, neither speaking, neither moving, and neither needing nor wanting to for a very long time.  
"Dean?" Alice finally asked.  
"Yeah?" he asked sleepily.  
"I-" she cut off, considering, before smiling. "Never mind. You know," she said. Dean honestly had no idea what she had been going to say, but he didn't press.  
Alice waited until his breathing steadied out, and she was fairly sure he was asleep, before she got up, slipping back into Danny's clothes, and scribbling a quick note on a piece of paper before slipping out the door into the night.

Dean was woken by someone knocking on the door. He rubbed his eyes, looking around groggily, surprised to see that Alice wasn't next to him. He got up, dressing quickly, before going to open to door to see Sam standing outside, holding two bags of mcdonalds.  
"Is it uh... safe to come in?" he asked, grinning.  
"Shut up," Dean said, stepping aside to let him in, and closing the door behind him. Sam looked around, not seeing Alice and noting that the bathroom door was open.  
"Where's Alice?" he asked, setting the food down on the table.  
"I don't know," Dean said, sitting. "Probably went to steal someones clothes."  
"Nope," Sam said, picking up a note off the table. "Dean. Taking off in case Sam tries something. If you need me, try the number on the back. Sorry, Alice." Sam looked up. "She took off."  
"Yeah, I got that part," Dean said. He leaned back in his chair, and covering his face with his hands. He was a bit let down, but not surprised. It wasn't something he'd been expecting per say, but it was Alice.  
"So..." Sam sat down opposite him and fished a hamburger out of one of the bags. "Did you tell her?" he asked.  
"Tell her what?" Dean asked, sitting up and grabbing the bag, going through it's contents.  
"About the deal you made," Sam said. "How you've only got a few months left before you go to hell?"  
"Nope," Dean said, not looking up from the bag.  
"Why not? Didn't it occur to you that she might be able to help get you out of it?" Sam asked.  
"We've been over this Sam. I don't care. We can't afford to be trying to get out of this deal," he said.  
"Right. Because I'm going to die if we do," Sam said.  
"Yeah you are. And that kind of makes this whole thing pointless, doesn't it?" Dean said. "Look, I'm not bringing her into this."  
"I think that's dumb," Sam said.  
"Yeah, you've made that pretty clear. Can we eat, and get a paper, and go kill something?" Dean asked.  
Sam didn't respond, just took a bite of his burger, and Dean took it as a yes, digging into his.


	13. Chapter 13

Two months later

Alice was in the middle of a hunt when the call came. Actually, she was closer to the end of the hunt, stalking a vamp. He was the last of a coven she'd slaughtered in San Jose, and she had been tracking him for two weeks now. What could she say, she hated unfinished business, especially when it left loose ends. She'd carefully placed herself downwind of him, and was certain that this was the moment she would nab him.  
Honestly, she should have remembered to turn her phone off, but she forgot, and it rang loudly. She heard him turn from where she'd ducked behind a dumpster, and cursed as her phone kept ringing. She stepped out from behind the bin, and dodged as the monster charged her. He turned quickly, but ducked back as she swiped at him with a machete. Her phone kept ringing as they danced quickly in circles, neither landing blows until her blade connected with his side, anad he fell. She brought it down quickly on his neck, hearing a satisfactory clang as the blade went straight through and hit the blacktop below.  
Her phone was still ringing, and she took it out of her pocket, curious to see what had interrupted her hunt.  
"Yeah?" she asked.  
"Alice?" she heard Sam's voice from the other end. "Thank God. I need help," he started talking too quickly for her to understand, obviously panicked. She wiped her machete on the vamps shirt, interrupting him.  
"Whoa, Sam, slow down. Tell me what's going on, but do it calmly," she said. She walked away from the decapitated corpse, opting to let the cops find it and make what they would of it.  
"Okay. Me and Dean were working a case, a missing persons that sounded pretty weird. We connected it to this place called the Mystery Spot, which as far as I can tell is just hoax piled up on top of hoax. But-" he stopped. "Please believe me?"  
"The chances that I won't believe you are slim to none. Keep talking," Alice said, heading for the motel where she'd left her car.  
"Every day is Tuesday. And it's the same Tuesday. The only things that go differently are the things that I try to change," Sam said.  
"Okay. That doesn't sound too bad. I guess you and Dean need my help getting out of the cycle, huh?" she asked.  
"Dean doesn't know that it's happening," Sam said. "Every morning, we wake up, and it's Tuesday, and he forgets that it's supposed to be wednsday."  
"Okay. That's weird," Alice said, already running through possibilities in her head. "Is there anything that's constant? Anything that's always the same from day to day? Even if it's just a little detail. Not the color of the drapes or anything though, because that's just inconsequential," Alice had reached her car, and was pulling out her keys.  
"Yeah. Dean dies, every single day," Sam said.  
She froze, keys in the lock, before biting her lip, and unlocking her door. "Does it happen the same way every day?" she asked, getting into her car and closing the door behind her. She didn't have to force herself to stay calm and keep thinking. It was an automatic reaction for her by now. Panicking never kept anyone alive.  
"No. It's different every day, because I warn him. The first time, he got shot, and then he got run over by a car, and then a dresser fell from a few stories up on him, and it just doesn't stop," Sam said.  
"How many tuesdays do you think you've had?" Alice asked.  
"I stopped counting around thirty," Sam said.  
"Have you called me before?" Alice asked.  
"No," Sam said.  
"That's good. That leaves that chance that maybe you just wandered into some sort of bubble where time's on a loop. I've heard of it happening before, though I've never actually run across it, except for that one time in Minnesota. Where are you?" she asked.  
"Wait, if you come here, the chances are you'll start... not remembering too," Sam said.  
"I know. I plan to camp outside of where ever you are, and observe from the outside." She paused. "Sam, why didn't you call me sooner? Or anyone, for that matter?" she asked.  
"There isn't a cell phone signal, and there wasn't a phone in our hotel. I broke into a house and I'm using the landline," Sam said.  
"That's interesting," Alice said, already running facts over in her head and checking them against different phenomenon. "And it's also a bit flattering that I'm the first person you thought to call," she added, starting her car.  
"No, you aren't. I tried some other friends, but I couldn't get ahold of them," Sam said.  
"Hmmf. Tell me where you are then," she said.  
"Douglas, Arizona," he said.  
"Arizona, huh? We had some good times around there, didn't we," Alice said.  
"Not really. Can you just... hurry? I don't know how much more of this I can take," Sam said.  
"I'm on my way there right now. Just keep calling me. And Sam, try to see if you can keep Dean from dying again," she said. She hung up, pocketing her phone and staring at the road ahead, lost in thought. The fact that Dean was dying every single day was bad. It meant that most likely, he was supposed to die on that day. The time loop might be the only thing keeping him alive. She clenched her jaw, and drove a bit more quickly, determined to get both of those idiots out of whatever they'd stumbled into, alive.

* * *

Alice was parked a bit off the highway a short ways away from Douglas, waiting for Sam to call her. She'd stocked up on food(Mostly slim jims and granola bars) on the way there, so in her eyes, she was set. She'd been camping like this for about two weeks, going over everything she knew of that could cause something like this. The results had been discouraging, especially since she didn't have nearly as much information as she would have liked. And the information that he had been able to give her was dismal, to say the least. She'd suggested that he just sit Dean down in a chair and leave him there, but for five days, he'd just kept getting up, and being killed in ridiculous, statistically unlikely manners. She'd finally had Sam just knock him out and tie him up in the chair, and an hour later, the roof had caved in. So whatever was going on, Dean was absolutely dying every single tuesday. Which meant that if it was a being(She'd come up with a few who were capable) doing this, than they really had it in for Dean Winchester. Or, in what she considered to be the worse case, it was just a natural phenomenon, and someone upstairs had decided it was Deans time to go. Her phone rang, and she picked it up quickly, sitting up.

"Sam?" she asked.  
"I'm here. I need you to talk to Dean again for me," he said wearily.  
"Put him on," she said.  
"Alice?" Deans questioning voice came from the other end.  
"Okay, everything Sam just told you is true, and honestly, you're being stupid not to believe it. I'm camped outside the town right now," she said.  
"Oh. Great. So umm... let's get the hell out of dodge," he said.  
"Nope, you always die before you make it out of town," Alice said.  
"So what-"  
"You have to look for whatever's causing it. If it's a being, it's either a god of some sort, an Angel, or Norian, though I doubt it's him, because he doesn't usually meddle in human affairs," Alice said.  
"Norian? Who-"  
"No time. Just find whatever it is, don't die, and call me when you're done," Alice said. She hung up, not expecting to hear back from them until the next morning. But to her surprise, Dean called back three hours later.  
"Alice?"  
"Dean? Wow, you're still alive," she said. "I think that's the longest you've lasted yet."  
"Yeah, well it's over. We stopped it," he said.  
Alice sat up straight. "Really? Are you sure?" she asked.  
"Positive," Dean said.  
"You better be, 'cause I'm coming in," she said, starting her car up. "Where are you staying?"  
"The Roche motel on Pan American ave," Dean said. "It's just about the first street when you come into town."  
"So what was causing it?" she asked.  
"Trickster. THE trickster, same one who dropped Sam and me through that wormhole the first time," Dean said.  
"Damn he can hold a grudge. What did you do to piss him off so bad?" Alice asked.  
"All we did was try to kill him that one time, and we didn't even get close to succeeding, so he shouldn't really be keeping that one against us," Dean said.  
Alice entered into town and started looking for the motel. "Which way do I turn on Pan American?"  
"Left," Dean said. "Look, I'm going to load up, and we're going to get the hell out of dodge."  
"Kay. I might be in time to help you," she said.  
"See you then," he said. "And Alice..."  
"Yeah?" she asked.  
"There're- There's a few things I have to tell you," he said.  
"What sort of things?" Alice asked, not liking the change in his tone of voice.  
"I'll tell you when you get here," he said. He hung up, and she frowned, putting her phone in her pocket even as she pulled into the motel parking lot. Dean was walking towards the Impala, a duffel bag in hand. She got out of the car and started towards him.  
"Hey. What do you have to tell me?" she said, hands on her hips.  
"Well..." he fished around in the duffel, and pulled something out, holding it up for her to see. It took her a moment to recognize it.  
"That's my knife," she said. She took it from him, looking it over. "Where'd you get this? The last time I saw this thing was when it was buried in my chest," she said.  
"Sam took it. Off of Ruby," Dean said, not looking at her, but moving things around in the trunk.  
"Where is she now?" Alice asked, keeping her voice carefully emotionless.  
"It doesn't matter. I just thought you'd like your knife back. Look, I... I did something, a few months ago. That I probably shouldn't have," he said, turning to face her.  
"Quit stalling and cut to the chase would you?" she snapped, her patience wearing thin. Too much had been happening lately, even for her. Dealing with getting the Winchesters out of the time loop, the affair with the car she'd had to ditch back in Kansas city, and now the realization that her sister had not only survived, but gotten away with the knife? She didn't know what he could possibly say that could shock her further.  
"I-"  
There was a bang, and Dean jerked oddly. She felt like things were moving in slow motion, and yet very quickly at the same time. Dean fell, and she saw a man behind him, holding a gun. He dropped it, and ran, and Alice instinctively started to follow him, when she remembered Dean. She turned quickly, dropping down beside him. She'd seen people shot before, and she knew how to handle it. But for some reason, she forgot all of it. She didn't remember moving, but she was holding him. She tried to calm herself, and focus, so she could help him, but it was so hard.  
"Dean? Where are you shot?" she asked.  
He tensed in her arms, gasping and gurgling, blood at the corners of his mouth as a crimson stain spread across his shirt, over his chest. Some part in the back of her mind was still working properly, and realized that the bullet must have gone all the through, which in most circumstances was a good thing. He spat up more blood, struggling to breath, and it registered with her that the bullet must have punctured one of his lungs. He was drowning in his own blood.  
"Dean!" she heard a familiar voice yell. She looked up to see Sam running towards them.  
"You're going to be fine. Just hold on. Don't fall asleep, stay awake," she ordered, remembering how it felt to die. "If you stay awake, you'll be fine. Dean? Damn it Dean!"  
"What happened?" Sam asked. Alice didn't hear him, instead shaking Dean, who had stopped struggling.  
"Dean?! Dean please," she begged. She could feel that he wasn't breathing, and though his eyes were still open, there as nothing behind them, and they stared past her lifelessly. Everything went silent, and she could see Sam yelling, but she couldn't hear him as he wrenched Dean's body from her limp arms. Her eyes, wide in what the still functioning corner of her brain told her was delayed shock, wandered, settling on a figure in a jacket, watching the scene from around the corner. Trickster, her mind told her.  
Things snapped into focus very quickly. She leapt to her feet, charging at him as he ducked around the corner, hearing her heart beating erratically, and her blood, it felt searing hot, rushing through her veins, her skin tingling as the hot desert air rushed past. She reached the corner, but he was gone, and she screamed, a shriek that sounded completely foreign, inhuman, like a banshees. She punched the brick of the wall, needing to do something, kill something, and the trickster, who she knew was responsible for this, was gone. She kicked over a tin trash can, denting it and not stopping, bending it out of shape as she kept shrieking, the pain in her hand from hitting the wall as hard as she had a relief of sorts to her. She kept going, and she didn't stop until someone grabbed her, and he fought them at first before she realized it was Sam, and her screams turned to sobs, and instead of holding her back, he was holding her up, keeping her from collapsing on the ground.

* * *

Sam buried Dean. Alice camped out at a bar, refusing to go with him.  
"Are you okay kid?" the bartender asked her when she ordered her third drink.  
"Depends on how you mean," Alice said. "Whatever you mean, I don't need therapy for it, so if you could just get me another," she held up her empty glass, "that would be the best thing in the world."

He stared at her for another moment, before shrugging, and going off to get her another drink.  
"Did you salt and burn him?" Alice asked, not looking over at Sam as he sat on the stool next to her. "No," he said.  
"That's good," she said.  
"Are you gonna be okay?" he asked.  
"Sure. I'll be peachy," Alice said.  
"Are you sure? Because I know you and him had..." Sam trailed off.  
"Had what?" Alice demanded. The bartender, coming back over with her drink, stopped, looking at her.  
"We didn't 'have' anything Sam. We fucked a few times, and that's basically it. There was nothing there," she said. She spotted the bartender, and took the drink from him, taking a long drink of it.  
"That's not true," Sam said. "He looked for you. After we got back? The only other time I've seen him like that is with family that's gone missing. He loved you Alice."  
She snorted. "Right. And uh, how long had we known each other when he supposedly, 'fell in love' with me? Two months? Two and a half?"  
"Sometimes that's all it takes," Sam said. "I've fallen in love in less time than that."  
"Right."  
"Look, even if you don't believe that he loved you, can you deny that you loved him?" Sam asked.  
"Technically, yeah, I could," Alice said.  
"But would you be telling the truth?" Sam asked. Alice didn't respond to that, and Sam sighed.  
"Look, I'm going to get him back," Sam said. "I'm going to hunt down the trickster, and I'm going to make him undo this. I could really use your help."  
"Yeah, fine. We hunt down the trickster, kill him and pray that everything automatically reverses itself?" Alice asked.  
"No, we don't kill him. He can't undo it if we kill him," Sam pointed out.  
"It's our best shot," Alice said. "You should have killed him when you had the chance, instead of messing around with this idea of mercy you seem to be so attached to."  
Sam was silent for a long time. Alice ordered another drink before he spoke again.  
"He's in hell," Sam said.  
"What?" Alice asked.  
"Dean. He's in hell. As we speak."  
"Don't say that. He never did anything bad enough to get sent downstairs. Trust me, I know," Alice said.  
"A few months ago, I died. I was dead, and there was supposed to be no way around it. But Dean made a cross roads deal, his soul for my life. He was supposed to have one year before they collected on it."  
"He's in hell?" Alice asked. Sam nodded, and Alice swallowed, looking down at her knees, remembering her own time in hell. "That's what he was going to tell me," she realized out loud.  
"So you see, we have to get him back," Sam said.  
"Yeah," Alice agreed. "We have to get him back." The bartender brought her drink, but she ignored it, staring at the wall instead, her mind running over ways to find the trickster.

* * *

Six Months Later

Alice added another photograph of the trickster into the spiral notebook that was now almost full of newspaper clippings and security footage of the trickster. She heard a car driving up, though she didn't think too much of it until someone knocked on to door. She peered out through the peephole, seeing it was Sam, and opened the door, letting him in. He had a hand over his side, and she could see that his fingers were bloody.  
"Did it bite you?" she asked, referring to the werewolf he'd been out after.  
"No. The cops interrupted us," Sam said. "I still killed it, but they didn't really understand how lucky they were that they hadn't come in a few minutes sooner."  
"Course they didn't," she said. She started gathering up their things, while Sam took his shirt off and headed into the bathroom to fix himself. She finished long before he did, and went out to wait in the car.  
He came out, and got into the drivers side. "What have you got?" he asked.  
"He showed up in New York three days ago," Alice said.  
"He didn't do anything that would tell you where he is now, or where he was headed next?" Sam asked. "Yes, actually. He bought a ticket to a football game, on Saturday," Alice said.  
"Think he'll actually be there, or do you think this is like the other times?" Sam asked, starting the car up. Over the past few months, the trickster had been toying with them, leaving breadcrumbs and getting close within their reach, but not actually allowing them to get him. It was driving them both mad.  
"Don't know. There's no way to tell. All we can do is get there, and hope it's not a false lead," Alice said. "By the way, Bobby called again."  
"What'd he say?" Sam asked.  
"He was just checking up. I told him you were hunting," Alice said. "He's worried about you. Seems to think I'm a bad influence on you."  
"Gee, I don't know why he would have that idea in his head," Sam said sarcastically.  
"I know. Quite a harsh judge of character," she replied.  
They drove in silence after that. In six months, they'd conversed little outside of sharing information. Neither of them felt the need to speak, and they both shared the common sentiment that wasted breath would gain them very little. In truth, neither of them had much on their minds other than retrieving Dean from hell. The thought that it was taking them this long, that they might never succeed, tortured them both, though it probably affected Alice more than Sam. Sam had no idea what it was like in the pit. Alice did, and she wanted to get Dean out as quickly as she possibly could.  
Despite the silence between them, Alice and Sam had grown closer during their time hunting together. Perhaps it was the fact that they were almost constantly within ten feet of one another, or that they were both working with the same mindset to achieve the same goal. They understood one another better now than they ever had before, and understanding was not something that came easily to either of them.  
They drove on, both silent, and both hoping that maybe this would be the lead that would end this hunt.


	14. Chapter 14

They arrived in New York early Saturday, and didn't even bother with a hotel room. They went straight to the stadium, which was already bustling. Alice knocked on the door of the room holding the moniters for the security cameras. A female guard opened it, and Alice could see another guard sitting at the desk still monitering the cameras. Alice smiled at the guard, though the fact that there were two guards posed something of an issue. Nothing she couldn't handle though. She pushed past the woman into the room, shoving her back into the wall. Her head cracked against the wall, and she slumped to the ground, unconscious. The male guard went for his walkie-talkie, and Alice knocked it out of his hand, knocking him out of his chair and hauling him to his feet, a hand over his mouth. The guard wasn't small by any means, and Alice knew if she had been human she wouldn't have stood a chance against him, even with all her training. She shoved him back against the wall, shushing him. His eyes widened as her retinas flared momentarily, before Alice knocked his head back against the wall, letting him fall. She retrieved her bag from outside, before stepping into the room, and locking the door behind her. She shifted into the male guard, and took his clothes, tying the two of them up and hauling them into a supply closet a short distance away, where Sam had been hiding. She handed him a walkie talkie, neither saying a word before they headed off, Alice to the security room, and Sam all the way over to the other side of the stadium, their theory being that if Alice spotted the trickster, at least one of them would be able to get to him in time. Two hours passed, and the game that the trickster had purchased the tickets to began, and there was still no sign of him. Alice was startled by someone knocking on the door. She looked back to see a black man in a guards uniform standing in the doorway.  
"Roal? Where's Krissy?" he asked.  
"She had to run. Some kind of emergency, she was in too much of a hurry to tell me about it," Alice lied with Roals tongue.  
"Oh. That's too bad." The man stepped into the room, and Alice wished to god at that moment that she could download her victims memories like that one shifter Sam had told her about. Fortunately for her, the guard uniforms all had name tags sewn into them. This mans name was Ronny.  
"I'll lend you my eyes to make up for hers," he said.  
"Uh, no," Alice said quickly. Ronny looked at her funnily, and Alices mind raced. "It's just, I'm...expecting a call. It's... personal."  
He stared at her for a moment, before seeming to realize something. "Oh. Ok, I see. That's cool man. You go," he said, giving her two thumbs up, before walking out the door. Alice sighed, and turned back to the moniters. Her walkie-talkie buzzed, and Sams voice came through it.  
"Can you see him?" he asked.  
She pressed the button on hers. "A moment sooner and someone would have heard you. We agreed that we only communicate if we see him," she said. "And no, I would have called you the moment I did."  
He didn't respond, and she sat in silence for a few moments. Until, that is, she saw a familiar face on the camera screen. She sat up abruptly, eyes narrowing to slits for a split second and the temperature in the room dropping by about ten degrees as the instincts that were part of being a ghost kicked in as she saw her sisters face for first time in... it was different depending on whether you were using hell or earth as a guideline. A long time, either way.  
She forced herself to close her eyes, and she realized that the trickster wasn't going to show. He hadn't before, he wouldn't now. She turned around to face the other wall, different sides of her battling with one another. She, Alice, knew she had to stay focused, stay on task. The trickster, that was her job. Getting Dean back.  
But was it really the most important thing? Another part, made less of reason and more a primal, instinctive desire for revenge. Ruby was evil. She'd killed many before. It was as certain that she would keep killing as it was that the world was spinning.  
This wasn't the first time she'd bumped into her sister since she'd gotten back. She'd had to force Sam to promise her that he would stop letting her talk with him, hide from her. They'd made some hex bags, and that had been it, until now. She had the advantage, the part of her that wanted revenge so badly whispered. Ruby hadn't seen her since she'd gotten back from the pit. Alice had the element of surprise, and that was worth everything in a game like the one she was trying to stop herself from jumping back into. Torn between to different lines of reason, Alice looked back to the moniters. Ruby was heading down one of the halls, not too far from where Alice was. It looked like she was heading outside. She would leave. Chances were Alice would never see her again. Alice swallowed hard, clutching the tabletop so hard that her knuckles were white. She watched Ruby leave the building. And start walking. Alice watched her until she could no longer be seen. But she still didn't relax, knowing that she could pick up her trail from here. People would have seen her walk past. She could be tracked down. And Alice could send her to hell just like she'd been sent-  
She took another breath, and picked up her walkie-talkie. "He's not going to show. We need to get out of here," Alice said.  
"What? We don't know that for sure. We should at least stay until the game he bought tickets for is over," Sam protested.  
Alice stood, shifting back into her form, and slipping back into her clothes.  
"I know for a fact he won't be here. He led us here, to try and throw us off his track once and for all," Alice said.  
"How can you know that?" Sam asked.  
"Because Ruby was here. I almost went after her. I'm still tempted to, and once I start that, I know I'm not going to be able to stop, so we need to get away from here. Far enough, and for long enough that I won't be able to pick the trail up if I ever do come back for it," she said.  
"Alice, you can't give up on a lead that could get Dean out of hell just because Ruby's here," Sam argued.  
"I'm not going to talk about it now. I'm leaving, with or without you," she said. She dropped the walkie-talkie on the floor, and kept walking, ignoring the fact that Sams voice still issued from it behind her. She walked briskly out of the stadium, into the bright sunlight of the day outside. She spotted the Impala, and started towards it. She got in the drivers side and started it up, but waited, giving Sam, who was on the other end of the stadium after all, a few moments to catch up.  
She was about to leave, when she spotted him jogging towards the car. He reached it, and got in, and she started driving almost before he was in. He closed the door while they were moving, turning to glare at her, though she ignored him until he spoke.  
"Alice-"  
"I already know what you think," she cut him off. "But trust me, the Trickster isn't going to show here. I know how those bastards think, and Ruby being here cannot be a coincidence. He's trying to distract me. And trust me, it's a lot better for Dean if we run now, and get him out later."  
"How do you figure that?" Sam asked sourly.  
"If I go after Ruby, chances are I won't be able to think about anything else until she's dead. I most certainly won't be trying very hard to get Dean back. Think about it for a moment Sam. Really think."  
He didn't say anything after that, and they drove in silence the rest of the day and through the night, taking turns driving until they were almost halfway across the country from the last place she'd seen Ruby. They stopped there, renting a motel room, and bringing out their notes on the trickster again, and started afresh once more.

It was a week later, and they hadn't found anything new. But they hadn't given up, nor did Alice intend to. But if Sam was being completely honest, he'd devoted six months of his life to this, and he was starting to have doubts. He knew that Dean hadn't wanted this for him. He hadn't wanted him to search for a way to try and get him out. And part of him was angry at Dean for making that deal and damning himself. That part wanted to get him out, even if it was just to spite him. But there was a tiny part of him, that he's shoved back into the recesses of his mind the past six months that wanted to stop, and move on with his life. That part was starting to emerge now. He didn't see any particular event that triggered it. Time had just done it's work, knawing away at his resolve and weakening it at the same time as it reinforced the feeling that this matter would be better left alone. And he hated himself for thinking that. For thinking that it would be better to leave Dean in hell. Alice had never told him what it was like down there, and he'd never pressed to hard, but he would imagine that it's horrors transcended his comprehension. At least, that was the what the look in Alices eyes whenever Dean or hell was even hinted at told him. He'd often considered sharing these thoughts with Alice, but he thought that he knew what her response would be. And he didn't want to face that. But Alice running from the stadium loosened something in him. He didn't know why it was, because he understood that she did it out of neccessity. But he felt for the first time that maybe she would understand. And that if she could understand, then it could be justified. He kept running these thoughts over and over again in his mind, until he finally worked up the courage to voice them to Alice. They were sitting across from one another at the table. He'd gone out for sandwiches a bit earlier, and the garbage from that was scattered over the surface of the fake wood.  
"Do you ever..." he trailed off, his nerve failing him at the last moment, and ducked his head, hoping she would leave it alone.  
"Ever what?" she asked.  
"Nothing," he said.  
She went back to her work, and he tried to go back to his, but he couldn't stand to keep his peace any longer. Like a pot of water that had reached boiling point, he felt that he had no choice but to speak.  
"Do you ever have doubts?" he asked.  
"Depends. About what?" she asked.  
"About this. Looking for the trickster," he said.  
"All the time," she said, still typing and not taking her eyes from her computer screen.  
"Really?" he asked, surprised.  
"Yes. You shouldn't sound surprised. I've told you before," she said.  
"You have?" he asked.  
"Yes. Don't you remember? When we first started this, I said that it was a long shot that we could get anything out of the trickster. I never stopped believing that. In fact, the belief has became more firmly rooted with me since, if anything," she said.  
"That's not the kind if doubts I mean," Sam said. "Do you ever wonder if maybe we shouldn't be trying to get Dean out of hell?" She stopped typing, and looked up at him.  
"No," she said with a grim certainty in her voice.  
"Why not?" he asked. "And don't say because you know what hell's like. I've heard that reason before."  
"What's wrong with that reason?" Alice asked.  
"Nothing. But don't you think... I mean, you weren't around enough, and he didn't tell you until it was too late, but he was always going on with me about how he didn't want me to try and save him once they collected," Sam said.  
"You want to respect his wishes?" Alice asked.  
Sam shrugged. "Yeah. I guess."  
Alice was quiet for a moment, and Sam was about to just drop it and go back to work, when she spoke. "Whatever he wanted before, believe me, it's changed by now. I've been there. The only thing you can think about is getting out. It doesn't matter what kind of resolve you go in there with. They'll find a way to break it. To break you. Shatter you into tiny pieces until you're nothing but pain, and you can hardly remember what it feels like to be free of that. Trust me Sam. His wishes are not that we leave him there," Alice finished. She went back to her laptop, and they worked in silence for a few moments, before the phone rang. They both ignored it, figuring it was Bobby. And it was.  
"Sam? It's Bobby. I found him," Bobby's voice came from the phone. They both stopped what they were doing, and reached for the phone. Sam got it first, hope rekindled in him, casting all doubts back to the rear of his mind.  
"Bobby? Where are you?" he asked. He paused, and then nodded. "Okay, we're on our way." He hung the phone up, and stood. "He's at the mystery spot. He says he knows where the Trickster is, and he wants us to meet him."  
"Let's go," Alice said, helping him gather their things.

They drove all day, and reached Douglas by around midnight, heading straight for the mystery spot once they were there. They walked in to see Bobby kneeling on the floor turning the pages of a book, which was dead center of a chalked diagram with three candles and three bowls of something that Alice couldn't identify. Bobby stood when he saw them.  
"It's good to see you, boy," he said, immediately hugging Sam. Sam didn't respond, and Bobby pulled back, nodding at Alice. "'Elo," he said in grudging acknowledgement.  
"What are we doing here, Bobby?" Sam asked, both he and Alice impatient.  
"Well, it's the last place we're sure the Trickster worked his magic," Bobby said.  
"We know that. So?" Alice asked.  
"So you want this thing? I found a summoning ritual to bring the Trickster here," Bobby said.  
"The first thing I tried was summoning it," Alice said.  
"But I'm guessing that was the ritual where he can choose whether to come to you or not, right?" Bobby asked.  
"It's the only one that exists," Alice said.  
"Nope. Took me long enough, but I found one that forces him to come to you, no matter where he is or what he's doing. He doesn't have a choice," Bobby said.  
"What do we need for it?" Sam asked.  
"Blood," Bobby said.  
"How much blood?" Sam asked.  
"Ritual says near a gallon. And it's gotta be fresh, too," Bobby said.  
"Meaning we have to bleed a person dry," Alice said.  
"And it's gotta be tonight. Or not for another fifty years," Bobby said.  
"Then let's go get some blood," Sam said. He turned to leave, as did Alice, but Bobby didn't move.  
"You break my heart, kid," he said. Sam stopped, and turned back to him, and Alice paused in the doorway.  
"What?" Sam asked.  
"I'm not gonna let you murder an innocent man," Bobby said.  
"Then why'd you call us here?" Alice asked.  
"Why? Because it was the only way you'd see me! Because I'm trying to knock some sense into you Sam! Because I thought you'd back down from killing a man! Because I knew that she was cold, but I never thought it'd rub off onto you this much!"  
"Well, you thought wrong. Leave the stuff, we'll do it ourselves," Sam said.  
"I told you, I'm not gonna let you kill a man," Bobby said.  
"It's none of your damn business what I do!" Sam shouted at him.  
"Sam," Alice warned, sensing that something was wrong here.  
"You want your brother back so bad?" Bobby asked. He leaned down and pulled a knife out of his bag, holding it out to Sam. "Fine."  
"What are you talking about?" Sam asked.  
"Better me than a civilian," Bobby said. Alice could tell by now that something was not right. It wasn't a tangible feeling. Not something she could smell, or see, or hear. But after a while on the job she had, you knew when something inhuman was standing next to you.  
"You're crazy, Bobby. I'm not killing you," Sam protested.  
"Do it," Alice said.  
"What?!" Sam demanded, turning on her. "You can't expect me to-"  
"Sam," she said warningly, trying to tell him without words what she knew this was.  
"Look, Sam, I'm old, I'm coming near the end of my trail," Bobby said. "But you can keep fighting. Saving folk. But you need your brother. Let me get him back to you."  
"Bobby—"  
"You and Dean, you boys are the closest thing I have to family. I wanna do this," Bobby said.  
Alice slipped the stake that she'd kept constantly on her for the past six months out of her jacket, holding it behind her back. Bobby missed the motion, but Sam caught it, finally realizing what was happening. He took the knife from Bobby.  
"Okay," he said.  
"Good," Bobby said.  
Bobby turned around and got down on his knees, his back to Sam and Alice.  
"Just make it quick," Bobby said. Alice circled around Sam slowly until she was standing next to him, holding the stake ready.  
"Yeah, okay, Bobby," Sam said. "But you wanna know why?"  
Sam grabbed Bobby around the throat and Alice darted forward, shoving the stake through his heart. "Because you're not Bobby," he said. Bobby gasped, and struggled, before stilling, and they let him fall to the ground, dead. They waited, watching the corpse expectantly. When nothing happened, Alice could see the change in Sam, going from certainty to doubt and panic.  
"Bobby?" he asked.  
"Sam, it's not him," Alice said, certain of herself.  
"Bobby! Bobby!" Sam shouted ignoring her.  
Bobby's corpse vanished suddenly. The stake fell over, then Alice had to dodge to the side to avoid being speared as it shot over Sam's shoulder into the hand of the trickster behind him. Sam turned to face him.  
"Don't worry Alice. You were right. I was just screwing with Sam here. Pretty good, though, I'll give you that. Smart. You've obviously taken something away from dealing with us tricksters. And Sam, just let me tell you, whoever said Dean was the dysfunctional one has never seen you with a sharp object in your hands. Holy Full Metal Jacket," the trickster said.  
"Bring him back," Alice demanded immediately.  
"Who, Dean? Didn't my girl send you flowers? Dean's dead. He ain't coming back. His soul's downstairs doing the hellfire rumba as we speak," the trickster said. Alice clenched her jaw and her fists.  
"Just take us back to that Tuesday—er, Wednesday—when it all started. Please. We won't come after you, I swear," Sam said.  
"You swear," the trickster asked.  
"I'll swear," Alice said.  
The trickster considered. "I don't know. Even if I could—"  
"You can," Alice interrupted.  
"True. But that don't mean I should. Sam, there's a lesson here that I've been trying to drill into that freakish Cro-Magnon skull of yours," he said.  
"Lesson? What lesson?" Sam asked.  
"This obsession to save Dean? The way you two keep sacrificing yourselves for each other? Nothing good comes out of it. Just blood and pain. Dean's your weakness. And the bad guys know it, too. It's gonna be the death of you, Sam. Sometimes you just gotta let people go," the trickster said.  
"He's my brother," Sam said.  
"Yup. And like it or not, this is what life's gonna be like without him," he said.  
"He can move on," Alice put in.  
The trickster raised his eyebrows. "You call this moving on?"  
"He's ready to let it go. He would have a long time ago if I hadn't been around," she said.  
"If I remember correctly, he's the one who coaxed you into joining his crusade," the trickster said.  
"The tables turned. I know you know what I'm talking about. You've been keeping tabs on us. It's the only way you could have avoided us all this time. Can you honestly say that he would be here now if it weren't for me?" Alice asked.  
"Hmm. You know, I like you kid. Shame..." he trailed off absent-mindedly.  
"In any case, fine, I'll put things back. But you, Alice, aren't going to remember the past six months."  
"Why not?" Alice asked.  
"Because you don't need to. Technically they never happened, so the less that's affected by them, the better. Sam here," he pointed. "Him, I taught a lesson. It won't do to have him forget it, now will it?" he said.  
"Alright fine. Just do it," Alice said.  
The trickster snapped his fingers.


	15. Chapter 15

Alice, who had been sleeping in her car, was woken by the phone ringing. She hurried to pick it up.  
"Sam?" she asked.  
"No, it's Dean," Dean's voice came from the other end.  
Alice sat up straight, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "Dean? Well this is different. You're not dead yet?" she asked.  
"Nope. I'm calling to tell you it's wednsday here. Sam says you'll know what that means, and he refuses to let me do anything except sit here until you get here," he said.  
"I'm on my way," she said. She got the name and address of the hotel they were staying at, and hurried over. She knocked on the door of the motel, and Sam answered, cracking the door open and letting her in. Dean was sitting in the middle of the floor looking highly annoyed.  
"Dean! You know, I'm glad enough to see you that I could hug you, but I'm afraid you'd break if I did," she said.  
"Whatever, can we please do whatever the hell you're going to do so I can get some food?" he said.  
"Don't talk," Sam said.  
"How can talking hurt me?" Dean demanded.  
"Trust us, it can, so just be quiet until we get out of town," Alice said. She turned to Sam. "How are we planning to do this?"  
"I was just going to have you pull the car up right to the door, get him inside and then get out of town as fast as we can without having an accident," Sam said, handing her the keys to the Impala.  
"Alright, it is a plan," Alice said. She'd been planning to dump her car soon anyways. She bit her lip to keep from laughing as she pointed out the door. "I've got some bubble wrap in the back of the car if we want to be really sure he won't break. Sometimes car rides can get bumpy."  
"Okay, let's cut the crap and get this over with," Dean said sharply from the floor.  
"He's got a point," Sam said.  
"'Kay," Alice said, her mood not spoiled. She left the room, and Sam waited by the door until she pulled up, so close she was almost on the walkway. Sam ushered Dean out the door, and Dean swatted his hands away as Sam pushed him into the back of the car, and shutting the door. He grabbed their bags from the motel room, and got in the passenger side. Alice drove quite carefully until they were on the highway, and then she almost broke the speed limit. Sam grit his teeth but didn't comment.  
"So, what do you remember?" he asked Alice.  
"Everything. Almost a whole month of boring, day after day, same old thing, and every morning, you call me telling me this idiot bit it," she said. "Why, should I remember something more?" she asked.  
"Nah, that's about it," Sam lied. He figured that she didn't need to know about the six months. "Why are you so happy though?" he asked, puzzled.  
"Why? We're done! It's over. And I can finally stop living off of slim jims and granola bars and get some real food. I saw a Wendy's a couple miles up the highway, so guess where we're going?" she asked, grinning.  
"Suits me. Anywhere I can get a burger, and maybe some pie," Dean said.

They stopped, and ate in, Sam just enjoying the fact that Dean was there, Dean happy that he was getting breakfast, and Alice just happy to be eating something other than beef jerky. But Sam knew he needed to talk to Dean about Alice. His chance came when she excused herself to go to the restroom.  
"You need to tell her," Sam told Dean abruptly.  
"Tell her what?" Dean asked when he swallowed the bite of cheeseburger he'd been chewing.  
"About your deal. About everything," Sam said.  
"We talked about this Sammy. I'm not telling her, and it's not up for discussion," he said.  
"Dean, you owe it to her to tell her," Sam said.  
"The way I see it, I owe it to her not to tell her, and to let her enjoy whatever time she's got left with me instead of obsessing over breaking the deal the way you are," he said.  
"Maybe she knows how to break it," Sam said. "Maybe telling her is what'll get you out of it."  
"So this isn't about it being fair to Alice, it's actually that you think she might be able to find a way out of it," Dean said.  
"No! The point isn't that she might be able to help us. If she can, it's great, but the point is that once you're gone, I'm going to be the one who's going to have to tell her why you ended up as a hellhounds chew toy," Sam said. Dean flinched slightly, but shrugged to cover it.  
"That's the problem I leave you with. Better you than me," he said, taking another bite of his cheeseburger. "Oh, you know what else I could tell her while I'm at it? How you've gotten yourself caught up with Ruby," he said.  
"Don't go there. She doesn't need to know that," Sam said.  
"And she doesn't need to know that I sold my soul either," Dean said. Sam was going to argue further, but Alice came back.  
"Are we ready to get going?" she asked. They nodded, and left.  
Dean had absolutely no intention of telling Alice about his deal. He didn't even want to think about it. So, of course, it was the main thing on his mind. He shoved the thoughts to the back of his mind, shaking off the doubt, and the minute inkling of fear that worked its way over him. They wouldn't help him in the least.  
"So, do you two have anything in particular on your agenda, or are we just hunting ramdomly?" Alice asked when they were in the car.  
"We?" Sam questioned.  
"I'm staying with you two for a while. See if I can't keep you out of trouble," she said, grinning. "So? Agenda?"  
"Well, we've got the Colt," Sam said.  
"You mean we don't have the Colt. We have to get the Colt," Dean corrected.  
"What are you two going to do with a horse?" Alice asked.  
"Not a horse Colt, a gun Colt. A Patterson Colt to be exact," Sam said.  
"Why do you want it?" Alice asked curiously.  
"It's ours," Dean said. "It got stolen."  
"Really? Who stole it?" Alice asked.  
"A woman named Bela Talbot," Sam said.  
"Oh you're kidding me. Shortish with an accent, dark hair, and really tan?" Alice asked.  
"You know her?" Dean asked.  
"Not horribly well. But I ran into her on a case I was working about two weeks before Sam called me about you two being stuck in the loop," Alice said. She thought a moment more. "Actually, come to think of it I know what gun you're talking about. She tried to sell me a gun that she claimed could kill anything."  
"That's it," Dean said. "Where were you?"  
"San Jose," Alice said, starting the car.  
"If we want to pick her trail up we should get going," Sam said.  
"That's what I'm doing," Alice replied.

It was surprisingly easy to track her. Alice didn't know very much about Talbot at all other than her gut instinct not to trust her, but both of the boys seemed pretty certain that it was too easy. They were expecting a trap of some sort.  
They finally tracked her down to a hotel room in Monument, Colorado. Sam picked the lock while both Dean and Alice kept watch. Sam opened the door, and they filed in quickly and quietly, shutting it behind them, and immediately starting to search the room. Dean went to the drawers, Sam started trying to open a safe, and Alice covered the bathroom and closet.  
"Any sign of it?" she called out to Dean and Sam.  
"Nothing. Are you sure this is Bela's room?" Sam asked, leaving the empty safe open for them to see.  
Dean held up two wigs that he had found under the bed. "I'd say so," he said in response.  
The phone rang suddenly, and they all looked at it. Dean walkd to the phone and looked at Sam who shook his head frevently. Dean picked the phone up anyway, and answered it cautiously. "Hello?" he asked. His whole demeanor changed immediately from cautious to threatening. "Where are you?" he asked, setting the phone to speaker so Sam and Alice could hear what was being said.  
"Two states away by now," Talbots voice came. Alice recognized the accent.  
"Where?" Dean demanded.  
"Where's our usual quippy banter? I miss it," Talbot said.  
"I want it back, Bela… now," Dean said.  
"Your little pistol, you mean? Sorry, I can't at the moment," she said.  
"You understand how many people are gonna die if you do this?" Dean asked.  
"What exactly is it that you think I plan to do with it?" Talbot asked.  
"Take the only weapon we have against an army of demons and sell it to the highest bidder," Dean said.  
"You know nothing about me," Talbot said.  
"I know I'm gonna stop you," Dean said with conviction.  
"Tough words for a guy who can't even find me," Talbot said.  
"Oh, I'll find you, sweetheart. You know why? Because I have absolutely nothing better to do than to track you down," Dean said.  
"That's where you're wrong. You're about to be quite occupied. Did you really think I wouldn't take precautions?" Talbot asked. Dean looked at Alice, confusion written all over his face. It quickly turned to alarm as the door burst open, and police officers streamed in, guns drawn.  
"Hands in the air!"  
All three of them complied, though Alice, standing in a corner, seemed somewhat ignored by them.  
"Down on your knees!"  
"That bitch!" Alice heard Dean curse. She went along with them, her mind racing to try and think a way out of this.  
"Turn around! Now!" They pushed Sam and Dean so they were lying down on the ground, though Alice was once again ignored. She didn't mind quite as much, since she had something of a plan.  
"Sam and Dean Winchester, you have the right to remain silent," one of the officers, a black man said. She saw Deans eyes widen, and he looked up at him, recignition obvious on his face.  
"Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney and have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you at government expense," the officer went on, before grinning when he saw the Winchesters looking at him.  
"Hi guys… It's been a while," he said. He spotted Alice in the corner, and looked surprised at her prescence there.  
"And who are you?" he asked.  
"Bela. Talbot," Alice lied quickly. Dean turned to look over at her. "This is my room. These men just burst in on me a few moments ago."  
"Right. You won't mind if we take you into custody while we cross check that story," the man said. "You can't be too careful when you're dealing with these two."  
"What exactly does custody entail?" Alice asked cautiously.  
"We're just going to take you down to the station and hold onto you until your story clears," the officer said.  
"Alright, it sounds reasonable enough," Alice said as Sam and Dean were hauled to their feet. "Your name would be?"  
"Henricksen. Special agent Victor Henricksen, with the FBI," the officer said.  
"Oh. How very interesting," Alice said. "Can I stand? I'm getting rug burn down here," she said.  
"That's fine," Henricksen said. "Watch her like a hawk," he told a police officer.  
The police walked Sam and Dean out of the room, and Alice followed behind, hoping she could do something before they discovered her lie. The last she needed was her picture and profile in the FBI database.

They drove over to the station, Alice in a separate car from Dean and Sam, who had been chained together. She wished that she had been put in a car with them so that they could tell her more about this Henricksen. They obviously had a history of some sort with one another. Alice went into the station with Henricksen and an officer named Phil, while the Winchesters were left out in the car. The only people there were a girl who looked like a secretary, and the sherriff.  
"So did you get them?" he asked Henricksen.  
"Where is everyone? I asked for all your men Melvin," Henricksen said.  
"And you got them. They want with you on the raid," Melvin said.  
"Four men? That's all?" Henricksen asked.  
"Everyone I could drum up with an hour's notice. We're a small town, Agent Henriksen," Melvin said.  
Henricksen walked towards the holding cells, of which there was only one. There was a man sleeping in it.  
"What's he in for?" Henricksen asked.  
"Drunk and disorderly," Melvin replied.  
"Keys," Henricksen demanded. Melvin looked at him in disbelief, and Henricksen held out his hand impatiently. "Now."  
Phil reached for the key in his pocket and gave them to Henricksen.  
"What are you doing?" Melvin asked as Henricksen opened the cell and tapped the sleeping man on the back.  
"It's your lucky night, sir. You're free to go."  
"What the hell are you doing?" Melvin demanded again, but Henricksen ignored him, and helped the man up.  
"This way," Henricksen said. He lead the man out of the cell and handed him of to Phil.  
"Agent Henriksen, you can't just release my prisoners," Melvin said. Henricksen, still ignoring him, walked away. "Agent Henriksen!"  
"Look, I get it… you're Mayberry P.D., " Henricksen said.  
"Excuse me?" Melvin asked when he got the name of the town wrong.  
"And this isn't how I'd do it if I had my choice. But a tip's a tip and we had to move fast," Henricksen said. He walked back to the office where Alice was waiting.  
"Look, Agent, this ain't my first rodeo," Melvin said.  
"You've never been to a rodeo like this before. You have any idea who we're about to bring in here?" Henricksen said.  
"Yeah, a couple of fugitives," Melvin said.  
"The most dangerous criminals you've ever laid your eyeballs on. Think Hannibal Lecter and his half-wit little brother. Do you know what these guys do for kicks? Dig up graves and mutilate corpses. They're not just killers, Sheriff. They're Satan-worshipping, nutbag killers," Henricksen said. Alice stared at him, wide-eyed and trying not to laugh. Honestly though, was that what normal people thought they did? She was tempted to ask which one they thought was Hannibal Lector and which one was his half-wit little brother. She could see it going either way, really. Alice noticed the secretary, who was wearing a name tag that said Nancy, was silently listening to Henricksen, and holding a cross pendant she wore around her neck.  
"So work with me here. I'll get them out your hair and on their way to Supermax and you'll be home in enough time to watch the farm report," Henricksen said.  
"However we can help," Melvin said, nodding. "Those men of yours… post them at the exits," Henricksen said.  
"Yes sir," Melvin said, Henricksens rant about the Winchesters obviously having unsettled him. "Reidy?" Henricksen said into his walkie talkie.  
"Yeah, Vic?" Reidy's voice came back.  
"Bring them in," Henricksen said into the walkie talie. "I guess we're ready as we're gonna be," he muttered to himself.  
The doors opened, and Sam and Dean were led in, shackled together by a chain and guarded by two officers. Alice fought to keep a straight face. She thought that they were highly overestimating the Winchester brothers.  
"Why all the sourpusses?" Dean asked, grinning.  
Sam glanced at the name plate on Nancy's desk, and Nancy grabbed her rosary, looking frightened.  
"I'll show you to the cells," Reidy said, grabing Dean's arm.  
"Hey! Hey! Watch the merchandise," Dean said indignantly. Nancy's eyes follow them, scared.  
"We're not the ones you should be scared of, Nancy," Dean said, noticing. Alice rolled her eyes, though he couldn't see. That isn't helping Dean, she thought to herself. Dean and Sam were lead out of Alices sight back to their cell. The police left them alone. Dean headed for the bed and Sam to the door. They both almost fell because of the chains on their hands and feet.  
"Dean, come on!" Sam protested.  
"All right, all right. Sit?" Dean asked.  
"Yeah," Sam said.  
They awkwardly walked around each other and ended up sitting on the bed.  
"How we gonna Houdini out of this one?" Dean asked.  
"Good question," Sam said.

Back in the office, Alice was sitting in a chair, taking in her surroundings. One of the first things she'd done had been to discreetly tuck a paper clip into the hair behind her ear. Just in case. Henricksen was making a phone call and loosening his bullet-proof vest.  
"It's me. Steven in?" He paused. "Well get him out of the meeting." He waited for a moment, before speaking again. "I've got them." The other person was speaking rather loudly, and Alice could faintly hear what he was saying.  
"Well, I'll be damned. I was betting on your headstone reading 'Couldn't catch the Winchester boys'," the man on the other end said.  
"Well, they'll be at Supermax by morning," Henricksen said. Alice bit her lip, realizing just how little time she had.  
"How?"  
"Armored bus, loaded with men," Henricksen said.  
"A bus? What, are you trying to give me another ulcer?"  
"Look, we're taking every precaution," Henricksen said.  
"Like the last time? And the time before that? Screw that. I'm sending a chopper." Alice wondered how far back this went anyway.  
"Whatever you think is best," Henricksen said.  
"Damn right, and I'll be on it. I can't take you losing those boys again. They have been a primary thorn in my ass for months. So Victor..."  
"Yeah?"  
"Glue your eyeballs to them till I get there."  
Henricksen hung up the phone and turned to Melvin. "There's a chopper on its way," he said, though Alice thought that Melvin probably already knew, from how loudly the other man had been talking.  
"But we don't have a helicopter pad," Melvin protested.  
"Then clear the damn parking lot," Henricksen said. He nodded towards Alice. "And have someone run a background check on Ms. Talbot there," he said.  
Alices eyes followed Henricksen as he walked back into the cell block. He turned back to look at behind him, and she gasped, the face she saw was not human. He walked around the corner, leaving her alone in the room with Nancy. She swallowed hard, trying to control her breathing and the instinctive terror bubbling up inside of her. Terror that had been placed there by her time in hell. When she'd been in hell, she'd been able to seen Demons for what they were. Whew, they were some ugly mothers. But she wasn't in hell anymore. Were her eyes playing tricks on her? Something in her told her that no, it wasn't some trick of the light. Henricksen was possessed, and somehow, she'd been able to see past him to the demon below. Her mind raced even more frantically now as she tried to come up with some way to get those idiots and herself out of this mess.  
"Are you alright?" Nancy asked in concern from behind her desk. Alice realized that she was sweating, and breathing too hard. She caught sight of her reflection in the window, and she was pale.  
Her eyes flew back to Nancy, the beginnings of a plan forming in the recesses of her mind.  
"No," she said, standing, and faking a stumble, a hand shooting out to the wall for support. Nancy rushed over to her, helping her to stand.  
"Actually this is quite a bit too much for me to handle," she said. "Do you have a bathroom?" she asked.  
"Yeah. Here, it's this way," Nancy said, letting Alice lean on her for support.

Dean looked at Henricksen, who was standing outide of their cell. Sam glanced at Henricksen, then away.  
"You know what I'm trying to decide?" Henricksen asked.  
"I don't know. What? Whether Cialis will help you with your little condition?" Dean said.  
"What to have for dinner tonight," Henricksen said, ignoring him. Sam looked at him. "Steak or lobster, what the hell, surf and turf. I got a lot to celebrate. I mean, after all, seeing you two in chains..."  
"You kinky son of a bitch. We don't swing that way," Dean said.  
"Now, that's funny," Henricksen said.  
"You know, I wouldn't bust out the melted butter just yet. Couldn't catch us at the bank, couldn't keep us in that jail," Dean said.  
"You're right. Screwed up. I underestimated you. I didn't count on you being that smart but now I'm ready," Henricksen said.  
"Yeah, ready to lose us again?" Dean asked.  
"Ready like a court order to keep you in a Supermaximum prison in Nevada till trial. Ready like isolation in a soundproof, windowless cell, so small that between you and me... it's probably unconstitutional," Henricksen said.  
Sam and Dean seemed to realize that Henricksen was serious.  
"How's that for ready?" Henricksen said. Dean didn't say anything.  
"Take a good look at Sam. You two will never see each other again," Henricksen said. Dean still didn't respond. "Where's that smug smile, Dean? I want to see it."  
Dean shook his head. "You got the wrong guys," he said.  
"Oh, yeah. I forgot. You fight monsters. Sorry, Dean. Truth is, your daddy brainwashed you with all that devil talk and no doubt touched you in a bad place. That's all, that's reality," Henricksen said.  
"Why don't you shut your mouth?" Dean said.  
"Well, guess what. Life sucks. Get a helmet. 'Cause everybody's got a sob story. But not everybody becomes a killer," Henricksen said. They all looked up at the sound of a helicopter approaching. "And now I have two less to worry about. It's surf and turf time," Henricksen said, laughing. Dean and Sam watched him as he left.

Alice was sitting at Nancy's desk, doing her best to look busy. Henricksen walked out of the holding cell block, His eyes darting to where she had been sitting earlier.  
"Where's Ms. Talbot?" he asked.  
"She was feeling ill. She went to the restroom," Alice lied with Nancy's tongue. Henricksen looked like he wanted to question her further, but at that moment another man from the helicopter which had landed outside walked in. Agent Henricksen walked up to him and held out his hand.  
"Steven!" he said.  
"Gentleman," Steven greeted. Alice recognised him as the man from the phone by his voice. Instead of shaking Henricksen's hand, he gave him a thick folder full of paperwork.  
"What's all this?" Henricksen asked, confused.  
"What can I say? The FBI didn't invent bureaucracy. We perfected it," Steven said.  
"You want me to do all this now?" Henricksen asked.  
Steven smiled. "Sorry. Now, Victor. I'm gonna go take a good long gander at our fugitives," Steven said.  
Steven left Henricksen to finish the paperwork. Alice handed Henricksen a pen, smiling innocently, and Henricksen started to fill out the forms, looking annoyed. She studied his face, but she didn't see anything like the horrifically deformed, twisted face she'd glimpsed earlier. Maybe the light had been playing tricks on her.  
"Christo," she said experimentally. Henricksen snapped around to look at her.  
"What?" he demanded.  
"Um... it's my cousins birthday. Christopher," she said. "I'll have to get him something extra for missing it."  
Henricksen relaxed a bit. "I'm sure he'll forgive you. You've got a hell of a story to tell him," he said.  
"Yeah. I sure do," she said.


	16. Chapter 16

Steven stepped into the holding cell area and closed the main door to the office area. Dean stood up and looked at him.  
"Sam and Dean Winchester. I'm Deputy Director Steven Groves. This is a pleasure," he said.  
"Well, glad one of us feels that way," Dean said.  
"I've been waiting a long time for you two to come out of the woodwork," Steven said. He pulled hus gun out suddenly, and fire into the cell, hitting Dean in his shoulder. Dean cried out, and fell back, while Sam jumped up and grappled with Steven through the bars. Dean fell on the bed as Steven fired several more shots, narrowly missing Dean. Steven's eyes blackened and Sam, realizing he was possessed, began an exorcism in Latin. Steven screamed, the demon fighting to stay in him.  
Dean sat up, clutching his shoulder, as the door burst open, Nancy, Phil and Melvin bursting in. Nancy launched herself at Steven, knocking him over and trying to hold him as Sam continued his exprcism. The demon was stronger than she was though, and she was flung back, and cried out in pain as she hit the wall. The demon possesing Steven, unable to hold out any longer, gushed from him in a cloud of black smoke, disappearing into the ceiling air vent.  
"What the hell is going on in here?" Henricksen stormed into the cell block to see what was going on. Melvin had his gun drawn, and Sam and Dean were both on their knees now, Sam with his hands above his head, Dean clutching his shoulder.  
"Son of a bitch shot me!" Dean said. Alice stood shakily, grimacing and holding onto the wall for support as Phil ducked down, keeping his gun trained on Sam, to Steven for a pulse. He looked at Henricksen.  
"He's dead," he said, sounding shocked.  
Alice bit back a groan at the pain in her finger, which she'd landed on and broken. Sam heard, and his eyes darted over to her just in time to watch her grip her finger and bend it back into place. She bent over in pain, and her eyes connected with Sams when they reopened. She allowed her retinas to flare momentarily, and realization dawned on his face for a momnt, before his attention was drawn back to Henricksen.  
"They killed him," he said.  
"No we didn't," Sam protested.  
"Check him for marks, bullet wounds- whatever you want. We didn't do anything. He's probably been dead for a while," Dean said.  
"They're right, there aren't any marks," Phil said.  
"And what was that black smoke that came out of his mouth?" Melvin said.  
"He was possessed," Sam said.  
"By a demon right? Don't even go there Winchester. I-" Henricksen was cut off by a loud banging coming from the other room, and Nancy's voice calling for help. Alices head whipped around, and she bit her lip, knowing that she'd been discovered.  
"Stay here," Henricksen ordered. "Keep an eye on her and them," he said, pointing at Alice.  
He walked out of the room, and the banging stopped a few moments later. He walked back in with Nancy, only in her underwear, her arms crossed over herself.  
"Does Nancy have a twin sister?" Henricksen asked, looking at Alice. both Phil and Melvin were looking back and forth between them in confusion.  
"No," Melvin said.  
"Ask a question that only Nancy would know the answer to," Henricksen said.  
"Umm... Remember that nickname you always hated that I used to call you by? It annoyed you so much that I stopped it," Phil said, looking at Alice like he expected her to be the one to answer it.  
"Fancy Nancy," the real Nancy said. Phil looked at her, and Henricksen pulled out his gun, aiming it it Alice.  
"Sherriff, open the cell," he ordered. Melvin replied, and Phil pointed his gun at the Winchesters again. "Get in," Henricksen told Alice. Alice did, her mind racing as they closed the door again. Henricksen left, and Nancy and Melvin followed. Phil stayed a moment, staring at Alice, who stared back at him. He left, looking troubled.  
"Alice?" Sam asked.  
"Yeah," she said, helping Dean sit on the bed. "That plan was a bust."  
"What plan?" Dean asked.  
"To be honest I didn't have one," she said, prying his hands away from his shoulder. "Henricksen's possessed, by the way."  
"Big surprise there," Dean said through gritted teeth as she tore off a section of the sheet on the bed and pressed it hard against the wound to try and staunch the bleeding. She let Dean hold it there as best he could with his hands cuffed, and stepped away, pulling Nancys rosary from around her neck and tossing it to Sam, indicating the toilet.  
"Holy water, pronto," she said. She pulled the paper clip out of her hair, and started trying to get the chains off their feet as Sam chanted over the toilet bowl. The situation would have been quite amusing if they weren't all in such apparent danger of dying. The entire building rocked suddenly, and bright orange light flashed outside.  
"What the hell?" Dean demanded.  
"Something blew up," Alice observed.  
"Water's ready," Sam said. "So how do we get Henricksen in it?"  
"Hope for a bit of luck," Alice said, most of her concentration devoted to the paper clip, which was bending here and there and giving her trouble. "Damn it! Cheap ass office supplies!"  
They could hear everyone yelling over each other in a panic.  
"My men? Agent Henriksen—"  
"What the hell's happening out there?" Phil's voice cut Melvin off.  
"I can't get a line. All the phones are out," Nancy said.  
"Henriksen! Four of my men!"  
"The internet, my cell…. It's all dead. How can it all be dead?"  
Suddenly all the lights went out. They were plunged into darkness, and Alice dropped the paper clip. "Nobody move," she said.  
"That can't be good," Dean said.  
Alices eyes adjusted to the lack lighting, and spotted the paper clip.  
"Oh my God," she heard Nancy say.  
"No, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay. We're gonna go, we're gonna go… right now," Melvin said as Alice started trying to pick the lock again. She got it this time, and the chain fell away from Deans feet. Sam held his hands out, and she started on his.  
"Nobody's going anywhere. Everybody, calm down," Henricksen said.  
"Your partner is out there! My men are out there!" Melvin yelled.  
Alice could make out more talking, but it was too soft for them to hear. She got the cuffs off Sams hand, and his feet too, and started on Deans hands while Sam kept pressure on the gunshot, but she stopped abruptly as the door opened, and Melvin walked in.  
"Well, howdy, there, sheriff," Dean said. Alice kicked him, gesturing for him to be quiet. The sheriff ignored him, and unlocked the cell door, opening it, and keeping his gun trained on them.  
"Uh, sheriff?" Sam asked uncertainly.  
"It's time to go, boys," Melvin said, unable to see that they were unchained in the darkness.  
"Uh… you know what? We're just comfy right here. But thank you," Dean said.  
"What do you think you're doing?" Henricksen asked Melvin, stepping into the cell block.  
"We're not just gonna sit around here and wait to die. We're gonna make a run for it," Melvin said.  
"It's safer here," Henricksen said.  
"There's a SWAT facility in boulder," Melvin said.  
Henricksen walked into the cell, and Alice and Sam shared a glance. "We're not going anywhere," Henricksen said.  
"The hell we're not," Melvin argued.  
Instead of continuing to argue with Melvin, Henricksen pulled out his gun and shot him in the head. Sam launched himself at Henricksed, and managed to push his head down into the toilet bowl while Alice hurriedly chanted the exorcism rite. Phil ran around the corner with his rifle, and Dean snatched Henricksens gun up off the floor, aiming it at Phil.  
"Stay back!" he yelled.  
Henricksen lifted his head up out of the water, and Sam allowed him to for breath in case Henricksen was still alive in there. His face was burning and he was yelling something unintelligible. Sam shoved him back into the toilet bowl, as Alice continued the exorcism. Nancy came around the corner.  
"Hurry up!" Dean yelled to Alice. She wanted to tell him that latin took as long as it took to do properly, but then she would have had to start over, so she left it be, and tried to hurry.  
Henricksen lifted his head again, his eyes black. "It's too late. I already called them. They're already coming," he gasped triumphantly.  
Alice finished the exorcism, and Henricksen screamed as the demon in him followed it's fellows path out through the air vent in the ceiling.  
Henricksen fell to the floor as Sam leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.  
"Is he... is he dead?" Nancy asked fearfully.  
Henricksen regained consciousness and coughed in response.  
"Henriksen! Hey. Is that you in there?" Sam asked. Henricksen got up shakily and sat on the bed.  
"I... I shot the sheriff," he said. Alice thought he was probably in minor shock. Dean smiled after a short pause.  
"But you didn't shoot the deputy," he said.  
Sam stared at him in disbelief.  
"I was fine, and then..."  
"Let me guess. Some nasty black smoke jammed itself down your throat?" Alice interrupted Henricksen.  
"You were possessed," Sam said.  
"Possessed like... possessed?"  
"That's what it feels like. Now you know," Sam said.  
"I owe the biggest "I told you so" ever," Dean said to Henricksen. He gave Henricksen his gun back.  
"I see you got out of your chains," Henricksen said, eying the chains on the floor. He looked at Alice, who was still in Nancys form. "I should have searched you before I let in here, shouldn't I have?" he asked.  
Alice nodded.  
"What's your real name? Unless it actually is Bela Talbot," Henricksen said.  
"My name's Alice. I hate my last name, so don't even ask," she said.  
"And uh... are you going to think I'm rude if I ask what the hell are you?" he asked.  
"Nope. I'm lots of things. Shapeshifter. Ghost. Hunter. Smart." She shrugged. "Just generally awesome."  
"All right. So how do we survive?" Henricksen asked.  
"There're a few things we can do," Alice said. "First off though, it's been nice running around as Nancy, but, and no offense to you Nancy," she said. "I like being me better. So it you'll excuse me, I'll leave you two to explain to him, while I change," she said. She walked out of the cell block, and headed for the bathroom.

They'd already started salting the entrances by the time she was out, so she joined Sam and Dean in drawing Devils Traps. Henricksen and the others finished the salting, and they all met back in the office area.  
"Done," Henricksen said.  
"You're certain that you salted every window and door in the whole place?" Sam asked.  
"We're certain," Nancy said.  
"That's good. Hey, where's my car?" Dean asked.  
"Impound lot out back," said Phil, who had been in the office the whole time, loading shot gun rounds with said.  
"Okay," Dean said, starting for the door.  
"Wait," Henricksen said. Dean turned to look at him. "You're not going out there?"  
"Yeah, I got to get something out of my trunk," Dean said. He left before any of them could protest further.  
"He'll be fine," Alice assured them.  
Sam, Alice and Henricksen joined Phil in loading the shot gun shells, and Nancy darted back into the cell area, coming back out clutching her soaked rosary. Dean ran back into the building suddenly, breathing heavily like he'd been ruinning, which Alice thought he probably had been.  
"They're coming! Hurry," he said.  
Black smoke hit a window and Nancy screamed. Sam tossed Dean a gun loaded with salt, at the same time as the entire building started shaking. All of the windows were completely obscured by smoke, and the electric lamps they'd set up around the room flickered dangerously. Dirt rained from the ceiling onto them as the building continued to shake, before it ended just as suddenly as it had begun, all of the smoke disappearing from around the windows.  
"Everybody okay?" Alice asked.  
"Define "okay"," Henricksen said, looking around.  
"All right, everybody needs to put these on," Dean said, handing out necklaces to Henricksen, Phil and Nancy. "They'll keep you from being possessed. There you go," he said.  
"What about you guys?" Henricksen asked, gesturing to the three hunters. Deanand Sam pulled down their shirts to show the tattoos on their chests, and Alice rolled her sleeve up to show the one on her wrist.  
"Smart. How long you had those?" Henricksen asked.  
"Not long enough," Dean said.  
"Hey, that's Jenna Rubner," Nancy said suddenly, rushing to look out the window. There was a crowd of people outside. She pointed out a woman with long red hair, and black eyes, and Alice immediately knew that this was going to be difficult. These were people that they knew, had probably known their whole lives, and they were going to have to kill most, if not all of them.  
"That's not Jenna anymore," Sam said.  
"That's where all that black demon smoke went?" Nancy asked.  
"Looks like," Alice said. For all of her instincts that told her she needed to be blunt with these people, part of her wanted to protect them. It was awful, not only having to kill the people you love, but not knowing whether they were already dead when you killed them, or if you'd sent them on their way along wiht the demon possessing them. It was an awful feeling.  
"We need to get back to work," Dean said from where he was still filling shotgun shells with salt. Henricksen and Alice went back over to join him, while Nancy still stared out the window and Sam and Phil went around checking to make sure the salt was down everywhere.  
"Shotgun shells full of salt," Henricksen said as he picked one up.  
"Whatever works," Dean said.  
"Fighting off monsters with condiments," Henricksen said. He took his tie off. "So turns out demons are real," he said as he started filling his rifle with salt shells.  
"FYI, ghosts are real too. So werewolves, vampires, changelings, evil clowns that eat people," Alice said.  
"You know about the clowns?" Dean asked, sounding surprised.  
"Duh," Alice said.  
"Okay then," Henricksen said.  
"Hey, if it makes you feel better, Bigfoot's a hoax," Dean said.  
"It doesn't. So, how many demons?" Henricksen said.  
"Total? No clue. A lot," Dean said.  
"You know what my job is?" Henricksen asked.  
"You mean besides locking up the good guys? I have no idea," Dean said.  
"My job is boring, it's frustrating. You work three years for one break, and then maybe you can save few people. Maybe. That's the payoff. I've been busting my ass for 15 years to nail a handful of guys and all this while, there's something in the corner so big. So yeah… sign me up for that big, frosty mug of wasting my whole damn life," Henricksen said.  
"You didn't know," Dean said, now sounding sympathetic. Alice listened, quietly loading a shotgun. She missed her knife. She had no idea where it was now.  
"Now I do," Henricksen went on. "What's out there? Can you guys beat it? Can you win?"  
"Honestly, I think the world's gonna end bloody. But it doesn't mean we shouldn't fight. We do have choices. I choose to go down swingin'," Dean said.  
"Plus you got nothing to go home to but your brother," Henricksen said.  
"Yeah. Her too," he said, nodding in Alices direction. She looked up, surprised. "What about you? You rockin' the white picket fence?" Dean went on, not noticing how Alice had reacted.  
"Mmm-mm, empty apartment, string of angry ex-wives. I'm right where you are," Henricksen said, chuckling wryly.  
"Imagine that," Dean said.  
Their attention was drawn by a crash and Dean and Henricksen started towards the storage room it came from.  
"Alice, stay here and watch out for Nancy," Dean yelled over his shoulder.  
"Because I just love babysitting," she yelled after him, but stayed anyways.  
"So you're one too? A hunter, like Dean and Sam?" Nancy asked quietly.  
"Yeah. I've been hunting since..." she chuckled. "If you think about it right, almost a hundred years before they were born."  
"Is that 'cause you're a shifter? You live longer or something?" Nancy asked.  
"No, that's actually a recent development," Alice said. "It's a really long story."  
"And you and Dean are together?" she asked.  
"Hmm? Oh. No. Not really. I mean, we've... we've had something. But I don't think we're together," Alice said, trying to reconcile the question with herself.  
"Oh. Sorry," Nancy said. "I don't know too much about things like this, but you should probably just tell him."  
"Tell him what?" Alice asked.  
"How you feel. However it is that you feel," Nancy said, somewhat awkwardly.  
Alice sighed. "I'm not sure how I feel. Half the time I feel like killing him because he's an idiot, and half the time I just want to keep him safe."  
Nancy shrugged. "Like I said, I don't know much."  
They fell into a silence after that, though it didn't last for very long.  
"How many are out there?" Dean asked, and Alice could hear an extra pair of footsteps coming along with them. They rounded the corner, and she straightened suddenly, her retinas flaring and the temperature in the room dropping by a few degrees.  
"30 at least. That's so far," Ruby said as she walked around the corner. She spotted Alice, and stopped short, eyes widening in shock, before narrowing in hatred and confusion.  
"You're dead," she hissed.  
"Apparently not," Alice said, taking a few strides closer.  
"That can be easily remedied," Ruby said, holding her knife, Alices knife, in front of her defensively as she recovered from the initial shock of seeing her.  
"Woah, let's not get nasty here," Dean said, stepping between them, though they were still at least twenty feet apart, and holding his hands out. "Look, we're all in the same boat, no one needs to be killing anyone else.  
"Yeah right Winchester," Ruby scoffed. "I am not letting her try to kill me, and while she's still alive, guess what? That's all she's gonna be able to think about doing."  
"Get out of the way Dean," Alice warned, holding her already loaded shotgun carefully.  
"Alice, don't," he said, turning to her.  
"Since when are you on her side?" Alice demanded.  
"Can I talk to you really fast? In private?" Dean asked. Alices eyes darted from him to Ruby, and then back to him.  
"I don't see anything that needs talking about," Alice said finally.  
"Please?" Dean plead.  
Alice clenched her teeth, and she could almost hear herself shooting the demon. But she knew that the salt rounds wouldn't kill her. Her plan had been to shoot her, take the knife and then kill her, but this was complicated by the fact that both of the Winchesters seemed to be solidly on Rubys side. She curled her lip up in an animalistic snarl, but lowered the shotgun.  
"1 minute," she said, stepping out into the hall. Dean followed her.  
"You can't kill her, she's helping us," Dean said.  
"Right. Demons never help humans, and she's the worst of the worst," Alice said.  
"She saved my life," Dean said.  
"That doesn't mean anything. She's using you, plain and simple," Alice said.  
"Maybe, but we can use her too. There's an army of demons out there. It'd sure help to have one of them on our side," Dean said.  
"We can take them on our own," Alice said.  
"No we can't," Dean said. "Not even if she left her knife with us-"  
"It's my knife, she stole it from me," Alice said.  
"Whatever. Even if she lets us have it, there's still too many demons out there for us to take on our own."  
Alice wanted to keep arguing, but she did have to admit to herself, even if she never would to anyone else, that at this moment, the demon could be useful.  
"So you're not going to kill her?" Dean asked hopefully when she didn't respond.  
"Yet," Alice stressed, poking him. "I'm not going to kill her yet. And I will if she tries anything," she said. She walked back into the office area, keeping her eyes on Ruby the whole time, and Ruby watched her just as closely.  
"How many did you say there were out there?" Alice asked the demon.  
"30, and you can expect more are coming," Ruby said.  
"Oh, good. 30. 30 hit men all gunning for us. Who sent them?" Dean asked.  
Ruby took her eyes off of Alice to look at Sam, who was standing in the doorway.  
"You didn't tell Dean?" she asked. Dean looked at Sam, confused. "Ooh, that's surprising," Ruby said.  
"Tell me what?" Dean asked.  
"There's a big new up and corner. Real pied piper," Ruby said.  
"Who is he?" Dean asked.  
"Not he. Her. Her name is Lilith," Ruby said.  
"Wait, Lilith the first?" Alice asked.  
"Yep. And she really, really wants Sam's intestines on a stick. 'Cause she sees him as a competition," Ruby said. "You missed a few things while you were out of commision sis."  
Alice would have shot out a few scathing remarks, but Dean spoke before she could. "You knew about this?" Dean demanded of Sam. Sam didn't answer. "Well, gee, Sam. Is there anything else I should know?" Dean asked angrily.  
"How about the two of you talk about this later? We'll need the Colt," Ruby said.  
"Oh, the gun Talbot stole?" Alice asked.  
Ruby stared at her. "I'm sorry. I must have blood in my ear. I thought I just heard you say that you were stupid enough to let the Colt get grabbed out of your thick, clumsy, idiotic hands. Fantastic. This is just peachy... are you two taking lessons on how to hold onto important things from Alice?"  
"Shut up, I held onto that knife with my dying breath," Alice said.  
"Well you didn't hold on hard enough," Ruby said, waving it in front of her.  
"Ruby," Sam started.  
"Shut up," Ruby said, holding her hand up. "Fine. Since I don't see that there's no other any option. There's one other way I know how to get you out of here alive."  
"What's that?" Dean asked.  
"I know a spell. It'll vaporize every demon in a one-mile radius. Myself included. So, you let the Colt out of your sight and now I have to die. So next time, be more careful. How's that for a dying wish?" Ruby said.  
"No, that's not an option," Alice said immediately, knowing the spell she was talking about.  
"What do we need to do?" Sam asked.  
"You can't do anything, and trust me, you don't want to," Alice said.  
"This spell is very specific. It calls for a person of virtue," Ruby said.  
Dean nodded. "I got virtue," he said.  
"Nice try Dean. You're not a virgin. I think Alice here can attest to that," Ruby said.  
"Nobody's a virgin," Dean said, laughing a bit.  
Rubys eyes landed on Nancy, who looked away, and Alice remembered how she'd said that she hadn't had much experience with 'those things'.  
Dean followed her gaze. "No. No way. You're kidding me, r– You're..."  
"What? It's a choice, okay?" Nancy said.  
"So, y-you've never... Not even once? I mean not even– Wow," Dean said.  
"So, this spell. What can I do?" Nancy said, smiling at Ruby.  
"She's going to cut you heart out of your chest," Alice said.  
"What?" Nancy asked, alarmed.  
"What? Are you crazy?" Dean said.  
"I'm offering a solution," Ruby said.  
"You're offering to painfully murder someone," Alice said.  
"And what do you think's gonna happen to this girl when the demons get in?" Ruby asked.  
"We're gonna protect her. That's what," Henricksen spoke up for the first time.  
"Excuse me," Nancy said.  
"Very noble," Ruby shot back at Henricksen.  
"Excuse me," Nancy tried again.  
"Ah, nobility. Something you would know absolutely nothing about," Alice said.  
"Nobility's stupid , and you're all gonna die. I fail to see any good coming out of that," Ruby shot back at her. "Look. This is the only way."  
"Yeah, yeah. There's no way that you're gonna—"  
"Would everybody please shut up?!" Nancy yelled. Everyone turned to look at her. "All the people out there… will it save them?" Nancy asked.  
"It'll blow the demons out of their bodies. So if their bodies are okay… yeah," Ruby said.  
"So you were lying when you said it would kill you," Alice said.  
"Being sent to hell is usually defined as dying," Ruby said.  
"Only if you're a living person with a soul," Alice said.  
"Demons are souls," Ruby growled.  
"You're all warped and twisted beyong recognition," Alice said.  
"And you would know that better than anyone. How long were you in hell for? How do you know you didn't start turning yourself?" Ruby asked.  
"Alright, just stop. I'll do it," Nancy said.  
"Hell no," Henricksen said.  
"No, no," Dean said.  
"You don't need to do this. You don't want to do this," Alice said.  
"All my friends are out there," Nancy protested.  
"We do not sacrifice people. We do that, we're no better than them," Henricksen said.  
"We don't have a choice," Ruby said.  
"Everyone always has a choice," Alice snapped.  
"Yeah, and your choice is not a choice," Dean said,  
"Sam, you know I'm right," Ruby said. All eyes in the room turned to Sam, who had been silent thoughout the whole debate.  
"Sam?" Dean asked, smiling slightly as he expected Sam to agree with him. Sam said nothing though, and Dean's face dropped. "What the hell is going on? Sam, tell her."  
"It's my decision," Nancy said.  
"Damn straight, cherry pie," Ruby said.  
"Stop! Stop! Nobody kill any virgins. Sam, I need to talk to you," Dean asked.  
Dean walked out into the hallway and Sam followed.  
"Wow, you are getting soft," Ruby said, moving to stand right next to Alice, her arms crossed over her chest. "I remember there was a time when you would sacrifice anyone for a greater good like this one. What happened to you?"  
"None of your business. You wouldn't understand anyways," Alice said.  
"You'd be surprised," Ruby said.  
"Right. So what are you now, the demon with a heart? Screw that. Maybe you've got those two idiots in there tricked, but you know you can't fool me. And you can't kill me."  
"I managed it last time," Ruby said.  
"You caught me off guard. Believe me, I won't make the same mistake again," Alice said.  
"I don't know. You've got a history of repeating your failures," Ruby said.  
"That was then. This is now."  
"You say that, but you don't really believe it," Ruby said, smirking triumphantly, and Alice was so tempted to just grab the knife and stab her. Why couldn't she? she asked herself.  
Dean and Sam walked back into the room then, and Ruby walked away from Alice, and her chance was gone.  
"Okay, so we've got a different plan," Dean started.  
"This should be interesting. I wonder what kind of desperate act you're planning to pull to get out of this," Ruby said.  
"We open the doors and let them in," Dean said.  
Alice raised her eyebrows. "I hope that's not the whole plan," she said.  
"Don't worry. There's more to it." Dean paused. "Now I can't garuantee it's going to work. In fact, it's probably doomed to failure. But, I think it pretty much beats the hell out of killing Nancy," he said, turning to smile at her. Ruby noticed Alice watching closely. As Dean told them the plan, Alice was paying too much attention to notice the look on Rubys face as she realized that she had leverage against her host bodys sister. What could make someone like Alice Smith soft? Love could. It could also be used against her.

Sam walked into the office area, where they were assembling anything they could use as a weapon.  
"Get the equipment to work?" Dean asked him.  
"Yeah," Sam said.  
"This is insane," Henricksen said, again.  
"You win understatement of the year," Ruby said.  
"Look, I get it, you think—" Dean started.  
"I don't think... I know. It's not gonna work." She stood up and headed for the door. "So long, boys, and... whatever it is you are now," she said to Alice.  
"So, you're just gonna leave?" Sam asked.  
"Hey. I was gonna kill myself to help you win. I'm not gonna stand here and watch you lose. And I'm disappointed because I tried. I really did, but clearly I bet on the wrong horse. Do you mind letting me out?" she asked.  
Sam stepped forward to scratch away some of the paint forming the Devils trap in front of the door keeping Ruby in, but Alice stopped him.  
"Wait Sam," she said. She walked up to Ruby. "I want my knife back first."  
"Finders keepers," Ruby said.  
"Uh-uh," Alice said. "You give me that knife, or you aren't leaving here alive. Now I think Sam and Dean are at least disillusioned with you enough to help me get my property back at least."  
"I give you this knife and the first thing you're going to do with it is skewer me. Sorry, but I'd rather not," Ruby said.  
"You don't have a choice. You can give me the knife, or we'll take it away from you. Dean?" Alice asked, not even bothering to turn to look at him, knowing that she would have his support.  
"You bet," Dean said.  
Ruby licked her lips slowly, glancing from Dean, to Sam, and back to Alice, all three glaring at her, and Henricksen, Phil and Nancy watching from in the background. Ruby tossed a strand of hair out of her face, glaring down at Alice.  
"First promise me you won't kill me," she said.  
"I promise I won't kill you unless you try to kill anyone while I'm around. That includes me," Alice said.  
"Fine. I wasn't planning on killing too many demons this week anyways," Ruby said. She handed the knife to Alice, who nodded at Sam. He scratched a hole in the trap, and Ruby opened the door and stepped out. "I'm leaving," they heard her say. She sounded very pissed, probably because her most hated enemy had just taken one of her most treasured possessions off of her. "Who wants to stop me?"  
Sam closed the door and fixed the devils trap. Alice didn't know, and didn't really care if Ruby made it past the demons unmolested. If anything, she was hoping that they'd rip her to shreds. The promise that Alice had made to get her knife back meant that while she could hunt Ruby down, she couldn't kill her once she did unless Ruby was trying to kill someone else. Knowing the demon, Alice figured that she would have plenty of opportunities to kill her. Just not quite as many as she would have liked.  
"Alright. Let's do this," she said. They all trickled off to their various positions. Sam and Henricksen stayed in the main office area, Dean and Alice, armed with her knife, were nearer the outside doors.  
"All set?" Dean yelled back.  
"Yeah!" Sam replied.  
"Ready!" Henricksen said.  
"Let's do this," Dean said.  
They broke the salt lines and devil's traps protecting the doors. Alice threw open an outside door. At first, nothing happened, but then suddenly a demon swung from the doorway and kicked at Alice with it's feet. Alice swiped at it with the knife, and it screamed as the knife connected and orange light exploded from it. Demons ran inside from all directions, and Dean and Sam started shooting. Alice ducked back behind them to avoid being shot. A demon tackled SAM to the ground, and Alice stabbed it in it's back before it could snap his neck. He got up and retreived his gun, and kept firing. "Spread out!" Dean yelled. Alice heard crashing from another part of the station, and knew that they were coming in the windows now. She joined Henricksen in another hall. He, like the Winchesters, had a shotgun. Guns were all well and good, Alice thought, but she far preferred knives. Guns had to be reloaded. And sure, you had to get up close and personal to use a knife, but that wasn't really an issue with her. At least it hadn't been before. Alice slashed open a demons stomach, spilling it's guts out onto the floor. It growled at her through the yellow light, but rather than seeing human lips lifting into the grimace, she saw the twisted, deformed things that didn't quite pass as lips. Black eyes, horns- God demons were ugly. She saw them as she'd seen them in hell, and suddenly she was surrounded by the things that had been tormenting her. She screamed, and started slashing and stabbing frantically at the monsters around her, fighting as much out of fear and terror as out of anger. But they kept coming, and Henricksen and she were backed into the main office area, the same place where Dean and Sam where. Dean and Sam were out of bullets, and were flinging holy water at the demons. They were cornered.

On the roof of the building, Nancy and Phil watched as more demons ran into the building.  
"When this is over, I'm gonna have so much sex," Nancy said. Phil looked at her. "Not with you. We better move," she said. Phil looked a bit hurt, but followed her down the ladder that lead off of the roof, taking the bags of salt that they had brought up down with them. They closed and locked all of the doors, and started going around and salting the doors and the windows, locking the demons in with Sam, Dean, Alice and Henricksen.

Inside, Dean watched as Alice kept fighting, and he could see that she was terrified. It occurred to him that he'd never really seen her afraid before. He'd seen her slightly spooked, but right now, she was fighting like a cornered animal. Which, he supposed they were. But he'd seen her walk right into what they knew was a factory full to the brim with demons, without so much as flinching. He didn't understand why she was so afraid now. His thoughts on this were cut short as the demon that Nancy had identified as Jenna climbed over a desk and walked towards Sam. She stretched out an arm, and both of the Winchesters went flying back against a wall. Alice fell, and Dean couldn't see her in the teeming mass of demons.  
"Henriksen, now!" he yelled.

Henricksen was in the audio room, struggling with a demon as he tried to play a tape. He managed to turn it on, and Sam's voice reciting an exorcism came from speakers all over the station. The demons covered their ears, most of them shrieking. Sam and Dean fell to the ground, and Alice crawled out of the midst of the demons, into a corner, holding her knife out defensively, and breathing heavily, her eyes still shining with an odd kind of light that was half fear, and half just plain madness, pure and simple. Many of the demons started smoking out, and the scene took on a fightening resemblance to hell, all chaos and fear and the sound of others screaming. For few moments, Alice remembered the pit more vividly than she had since she'd gotten back, and she could have sworn that she felt herself being cut open. There was an explosion of light on the ceiling, then everything went still, and silent. Alice was shivering in her corner, and Dean ran over to her, kneeling down by her. Now that it was quiet again, and the only faces in the room were human, Alice could think again. She realized that her arms had been cut, but it was just the Torxing marks starting another cycle. She took a breath, and realized she was fine.  
"Are you okay?" Dean asked, looking at her in concern.  
"Yeah," she said, standing. "I'm fine."  
Dean didn't believe her, but he decided now wasn't a good time. He'd give her a while, and then try again, because he was certain that something was wrong. Henricksen walked into the office and chuckled slightly as he wiped blood from his lip. The people who had been possessed start to get up, stumbling here and there in confusion, only a few looking surprised as all the blood on the walls and the floor and on them as well.  
"I better call in. Hell of a story I won't be telling," he said.  
"So what are you gonna tell them?" Sam said.  
"The least ridiculous lie I can come up with in the next five minutes," Henricksen said.  
"Good luck with that. Not to pressure you or anything, but what are you planning to do about us?" Dean asked.  
"I'm gonna kill you," Henricksen said simply. "Sam and Dean Winchester were in the chopper when it caught on fire. Nothing left. Can't even identify them with dental records. Rest in peace guys."  
Sam and Dean shook hands with shake hands with Henricksen, looking happy. Alice hung back silently.  
"Now get out of here," Henricksen said.  
"Yeah..." Sam said. They walked out as Henricksen picked up the phone to place a call.

It was the next day, and they were in a hotel room three towns over. Sam was lying on his back on a bed, Dean was sitting in a chair, and Alice was reading the news. "Alice, can I talk to you about something?" Dean asked.  
"Depends on what it is," she said, not taking her eyes off of the paper.  
"Back at the station... I don't know. You freaked out or something," he said.  
"We were in the heat of battle. I was high on adrenaline. What do you want me to say?" Alice asked.  
"Are you sure that was all it was? 'Cause I've seen you in some sticky situations, but I don't think I've ever really seen you scared like you were back there," Dean said.  
"Only idiots aren't scared of demons Dean. We were being overwhelmed by them, and we were locked in with them. Chances were we were all going to die. Of course I was scared. Are you going to let it go, or rub it in for the rest of my life?" she asked.  
Before he could reply, there was a knock at the door. Sam sat up and Dean opened the door. Ruby walked in, and Alice sat up straight, putting the paper down.  
"You've got nerve coming around here," she said.  
"Calm your horses, this isn't a curtesy visit," Ruby said. She nodded towards the TV. "Turn on the news," she said.  
Sam turned on the television. A reporter was on the screen. "The community is still reeling from the tragedy that happened just a few hours ago. Authorities believe a gas main ruptured causing the massive explosion that ripped apart the police station and claimed the lives of everyone inside. Among the deceased, at least six police officers and staff, including sheriff Melvin Dodd, deputy Phil Amici, and secretary Nancy Fitzgerald as well as three FBI agents, identified as Steven Groves, Calvin Reidy, and Victor Henriksen." The news showed their pictures. "Two fugitives in custody were also killed. We'll continue to follow the story here at the scene, but for now, back to you, Jim."  
Ruby turned off the television and looked at Sam and Dean with an "I-told-you-so" kind of look.  
"Must have happened right after we left," Sam said.  
"Considering the size of the blast, smart money's on Lilith," Ruby said, tossing hex bags at Sam and Dean.  
"What's in these?" Sam asked.  
"Something that'll protect you. Throw Lilith off your trail... for the time being, at least," Ruby said. She turned to Alice. "As for you, I'd suggest putting some distance between yourself and these morons."  
"Thanks. For the hex bags," Sam said.  
"Don't thank me. Lilith killed everyone. She slaughtered your precious little virgin, plus a half a dozen other people. So after your big speech about humanity and war, turns out your plan was the one with the body count. Do you know how to run a battle? You strike fast and you don't leave any survivors. So no one can go running to tell the boss. So next time... we go with my plan," Ruby said.  
"Like you care so very much about those people," Alice said.  
"You'd be surprised," Ruby said.  
"I don't think so. I know you, and caring isn't something you do. What's your angle with this?" Alice asked.  
"I don't have one. I'm just trying to help these idiots as well as I can," she said.  
"That is not like you," Alice stressed.  
"I guess I've changed since you last saw me," Ruby said.  
"I doubt that," Alice said.  
"Whatever. Think what you will. I'm just trying to help, whether you believe it or not," Ruby said. She left, leaving them all staring after her.


	17. Chapter 17

They skipped a few towns, hunting along the way. Alice refused to leave them, though she did demand to know why Lilith was so interested in Sam. Dean and Sam explained to her about Azazel, and how Sam had apparently had demon blood in him since he was a baby, and was supposed to be leading a demon army at the moment. Dean pointedly left out how Sam had died, and the deal he'd made to bring him back, and Sam didn't try to argue with that decision.  
"Demon blood?" Alice asked, sitting in the passenger seat of the Impala. Dean was driving, and Sam was in the back, leaning forward so that his head was sticking between the seats. "Well I guess that explains how he was able to read that demons mind that one time when he was possessed," she said.  
"Could be," Dean said.  
"So that's also why you want to find this Colt then," she said. "You know, I had been noticing there seemed to be more demons around then used to be usual, but I just figured times had changed a bit. Which they have, I suppose. So do we have any new leads on it from Bobby?" she asked.  
They'd gotten in touch with Bobby, and asked him to tell everybody he knew to keep their eyes and ears peeled for any sign of Talbot and the Colt. Sam had just called him an hour earlier.  
"None. She must be laying low, for now at least," Sam said.  
"Huh. Well, in any case, I've something to keep us occupied. Possible hunt in Byhalia, Missisippi," she said. "Nothing terribly major, a few cat mutilations, but it specifically says here that all three of them were black cats, and they all had their left eyes, claws and teeth removed."  
"That made the news?" Dean asked.  
"Animal rights people are making clamor about it to try and catch whoever's doing it," Alice said. "It's dumb. But anyways, it sounds to me from the parts being taken that it's some form of witchcraft. Possibly a summoning ritual."  
"Do you know what they could be summoning with those ingredients?" Sam asked.  
"Hard to tell, since kitty cat appendages have many different uses. The only thing that tells me it might be a summoning rite is the left eye, and it's possible that they could be holding onto it for a rainy day. And all of this is assuming that it isn't just some sicko who really hates cats," Alice said.  
"I've never run across one of them," Dean said. "Not really the kind of person I hunt."  
"If it is just a sicko, we can turn 'em in," Alice said. "Says here that the owner of the second cat is offering a $2,100 reward to anyone who catches him."  
"What?" Dean demanded, taking his eyes off the road to look at the paper.  
"Let me guess, crazy old lady with no next of kin?" Sam asked.  
"Matilda Robbins, and actually, she's only 32," Alice said, showing him her picture.  
"Who the hell would pay that much money over a cat?" Dean asked.  
"Crazy people I guess," Alice said. "Crazy rich people."  
"So, next stop Byhalia?" Dean asked.  
"Uh, destination Byhalia, next stop the nearest gas station. I gotta go," Alice said.

They reached Byhalia two days later, and checked into a motel, and immediately started trying to scope out the situation. They'd decided to split up, and approach the case from several different angles. One might think it would be easier to investigate the death of a cat than the death of a person, but that wasn't the case. No one paid too much attention to cats. No one had bothered to perform an autopsy on them, so basically the only leads that they had were the cats owners and the people who'd found the cats. They'd all been found by the same person, which would have been odd, but for the fact that they were all dumped on his doorstep. Which was odd anyways.  
Alice headed over to Matilda Robbins house to see what she could get out of her, Sam to the house of the man who'd found them, and Dean to the local animal shelter, the ones who had actually gotten the story in the newspaper by making such a fuss over it. Sam knocked in the door. The house belonged to a Mr. Lance Treadwall, but it was his young son who had actually run into the cats, all in a pile on his doorstep when he'd tried to go out to school. A large man in his mid-forties Sam would guess, opened the door, a dog at his heels barking at Sam.  
"Mr. Treadwall? Hi, I'm with the Missisippi Humane Society, and I was-"  
"No. Just no. I've had enough of you nutjobs skulking around here. They were just stupid cats, now get the hell over it!" he said, slamming the door shut. Sam stared at the door for a moment, before turning to walk away, but instead seeing Mr. Treadwalls son peeking around the corner. Sam walked over to him, and he looked a bit scared.  
"Are you Mr. Treadwalls son?" Sam asked. The boy nodded.  
"Okay. My name is Sam. I'm with the humane society," Sam said.  
"And you're trying to figger out who killed them cats, huh mister?" the boy said.  
"That's right," Sam said. "What's your name?" "Are you going to tell Pappy I been talkin with you?" the boy asked suspiciously.  
"I won't tell him. I promise," Sam said.  
"Okay, fine. My name's Timmy," he said, holding his hand out seriously. Sam shook it, returning the seriousness.  
"Do you know anything about what happened to the cats?" Sam asked.  
"Nothin, 'cept that they had some things chopped off of 'em," Timmy said. "Do you know the people they belonged to?" Sam asked.  
"Only Mr. Linnly. I feel real sorry for him. He's been beatin' hisself up over lettin' his cat out," Timmy said. "Plus he's awful lonely too, 'cause his daughter moved out and went ta live with her Mama up in New York."  
"Do you know anyone who might not like Mr. Linnly, and might have wanted to hurt him?" Sam asked.  
"Not a soul. Mr. Linnly's the nicest feller 'round. He wouldn't even raise his voice at nobody," Timmy said.  
"Okay. How about you or your Mom-"  
"I ain't got a Mama no more," Timmy said.  
"Oh. I'm sorry. But is there anyone who might be angry at you or your Dad?" Sam asked.  
"Yeah, lots of 'em. Pappy gets into lots of fights, 'specially when he drinks," Timmy said.  
"Alright. Well thanks for talking with me Timmy." Sam pulled out a pen and a scrap of paper, and scrawled down his number. "If anything else happens that's odd, call me, okay?" he said. Timmy nodded, and took the paper. Sam left.

Meanwhile, Alice was at Matilda Robbins. She knocked on the door, and it was answered almost immediately.  
"Are you the plumber?" Matilda demanded, rather rudely Alice thought.  
"Uh, no, actually, I'm here about the reward, for the person who killed your cat," Alice said.  
"Oh. Well you're not the first. I suppose you're only here for the money?" she said somewhat sourly.  
"Actually, yes," Alice said.  
That seemed to surprise Matilda. "Well, at least you're honest about it. I've had some idiot neighbors popping over here trying to pretend to offer me condolences, and then just going on to drill me for details about what happened to her that last night."  
"Do you mind if I come in?" Alice asked.  
"No, not at all. Would you like some tea? I just made some," Matilda asked.  
"Sure," Alice said, walking into the sitting room. Matilda went into the kitchen. Alice noticed some pictures on the mantle, of Matilda and another girl, who resembled her very closely. Matilda came back in with two cups of tea.  
"Your daughter?" Alice asked, indicating the pictures.  
"No, actually, my sister, Agatha. I don't blame you for guessing she's my daughter though," Matilda said. "She always looked so young."  
"Does she live here?" Alice asked.  
"No, not anymore," Matilda said sadly. "She moved to Vermont a few days ago. It hasn't been quite the same around here since then."  
Alice sipped the tea, and considered it, trying to figure out what it was.  
"Good?" Matilda asked.  
"Yes. What's in it?" Alice asked.  
"Catnip," Matilda said.  
"Oh. That's interesting. I've never heard of anyone using it in tea before," Alice said. "So, about your cat. Do you know of anyone who might have had a grudge against you and taken it out on her?" she asked.  
"Many, many people," Matilda said. "But it would have been more likely that it was one of the people who hold a grudge against her, rather than me."  
"People held grudges against your cat?" Alice asked.  
"Agatha. I named her Agatha, after my sister," Matilda said, sounding somehwhat bitter. "And yes, they did. She could be a bit mean-tempered at times."  
"Oh. Do you think you could give me a list of people who might have wanted to hurt her?" Alice asked.  
"You aren't from around these parts are you?" Matilda observed. "Pick just about anyone in the town," Matilda said. Alice thought that it was such a small town that wasn't very many people anyways.  
The doorbell rang, and Matilda got up to answer it.  
"Hello, I'm here about a leaky faucet?" a man said.  
"Oh yes. Alice, would you mind maybe coming back another time?" Matilda said.  
"Sure. Thanks for the tea," Alice said.

Dean walked into the animal shelter, still trying to get his story straight. Of course, it didn't help much at all that as soon as he reached the front desk, he realized the woman across it was absolutely stunning.  
"Hi," he said, smiling.  
"Hello, how can I help you?" she asked, returning the smile.  
"Hi, Janice," he said, spotting her name plate. "Umm... I'm here to..." he looked around desperately, and his eyes landed on a poster. "Adopt a cutie pie," he said, pointing to the poster, and regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth. But she was still smiling. God, she had a gorgeous smile. Why was he here again?  
"Alright. Cat, dog, what are you thinking of?" she asked.  
"Uh... dog," he said. Cat? Oh right, the thing with the cats. What cats again?  
"Oh, I love dogs," she said, smiling as she got up from behind the desk, and walked out through a door. He followed her, and some of his thoughts floated back to him now that her back was turned. Whew she had some curves though... his head snapped up, and he frowned.  
"Yeah, I thought I'd get a dog. I don't think it's a great idea to be getting cats around now," he said.  
"Because of those mutilations?" she asked.  
"Yeah. Terrible, right?" he asked.  
She bit her lip as they walked down another hall. Damn, this place was bigger than he'd previously thought.  
"Awful," she said quietly.  
"I read that you guys were trying to get the person who did it to come forward. You don't really think they will, do you?" he asked.  
"Not really. But that wasn't my idea," she said.  
"Oh. So whose was it?" he asked.  
"Actually, it was the directors sons idea," Janice said.  
"The director... Jimmy Bentune?" Dean asked. He remembered that his was one of the cats that had been killed Janice nodded.  
"You know, I'm actually pretty interested in helping out with this find the kitty-cat serial killer hunt. Do you know where the director is so I could maybe talk with him about it?" Dean asked.  
"Oh... the director is... he's out of town," Janice said.  
"Oh. Okay. How about his son? Where could I find him?" Dean asked.  
"Jimmy Junior? He's probably still at home," Janice said. "He's been holed up in there, and no one's seen him for around three days now," Janice said.  
"Okay. You know what, I'm actually going to put off adopting until this business with the mutilations is definitely over," he said. "Just in case he decides to start going after dogs too."  
"You're right. They're probably safest here anyways until it's all over," she said, smiling again. She led him back to the front desk, and scribbled a number down on a piece of paper, along with her name. She handed it to him, smiling.  
"Let me know when you decide to come back," she said.  
He took the paper, and tucked it into his pocket. "See you around," he said. He left the shelter, grinning at the fact that he could still pick them up, without even trying.

Sam and Alice got back to the hotel room around the same time. She got there first, and opened the door, when Sam jogged up from behind her. "Hey, what'd you get?" he asked.  
"Not much but crazy. Ms. Robbins named her cat after her sister, apparently. And she drinks catnip tea."  
"Ick," Sam said.  
"You'd be surprised. It isn't bad," Alice said. "How about you?"  
"Same. Not much. I was thinking about speaking with a Mr. Linnly, one of the cat owners, but he wouldn't answer the door. Mr. Treadwalls son, Timmy said that his daughter left around the exact same time his cat died, and it's taking a toll on him," he said.  
"Huh. That's kind of weird," Alice said.  
"What is?" Sam asked.  
"Ms. Robbins sister, after whom she named her cat, left town, also around the same time her cat died, from what I could tell," Alice said.  
"Connnection?" Sam asked.  
"Maybe," Alice said. "Or maybe it's just two kids, hoping to get out of the small, boring town and find better fortunes elsewhere."  
"That sounds more likely," Sam said.  
Alices phone rang, and she picked it up. "Hello?" she asked.  
"Alice? It's Dean. There wasn't anything at the shelter, but I'm headed over to talk with the shelters directors son," Dean said.  
"Why?" Alice asked.  
"His father owned one of the cats that got iced," Dean said.  
"So why aren't you going to talk to the director himself?" Alice asked.  
"He skipped town around the same time the cat bit it," Dean said.  
Alices eyebrows shot up, and she looked at Sam. "He skipped town?" she asked.  
"Yeah, why?"  
"So did Ms. Robbins sister, and Mr. Linnlys daughter, one of the other owners," Alice said.  
"So all three leave town, and their cats killed? Maybe this witch or whatever is just going for the defenseless animals, the ones whose owners aren't there to raise hell for them," Dean suggested.  
"Can't be, it was commonly accepted that Ms. Matilda Robbins owned Agatha," Alice said.  
"Agatha?" Dean asked "Her cat," Alice said. "Who names a cat Agatha?"  
"She named it after her sister," Alice said.  
"While her sister was still around? That's... weird," Dean said.  
"Yeah. Hey look, me and Sam are both done with what we were doing, why don't you give us the address, and we'll head over to help?" Alice asked.  
"Nah, I don't want to overwhelm the guy with three complete strangers showing up on his doorstep asking about his dead cat," Dean said.  
"That makes sense. But aim your questions more towards finding out where his father went than who killed his cat," Alice said.  
"Duh," Dean replied. "I'll call you later, I'm here," he said. He hung up, and Alice looked at Sam.  
"So. We can be pretty sure we've got a connection now," Sam said. "Yeah. Pretty sure," Alice said.

Dean walked up and knocked in the door of the house. He waited, and no one answered. "Mr. Bentune?" he called, knocking again. He still didn't get an answer, and he had a bad feeling, like dread in his gut. He looked around, and the street was deserted, so he bent down, pulling a pick out of his pocket. The handle turned, and the door swung open before he had a chance to pick it. The door hadn't been locked. He looked into the dark, empty house, wrinkling his nose at the smell drifting out of the door. He stepped over the threshold, already expecting the sight that greeted him from the smell that permeated the residence. The front room was trashed, and a mans body lay in the center of the room. He walked around it, not examining it too closely, but he could see from where he stood that the fingernails, and left eye were gone, and his jaw hung slack, revealing toothless, bloody gums within.  
Dean stepped out of the house, hoping no one had seen him, and picked up his phone as he got into the car. He'd have to dump it, but it was a cheap one anyways.  
"911, what is your emergency?" a woman chirped over the phone.  
"There's a dead body at 2342 Terrance road. Mr. Jimmy Bentune Junior's been done in," Dean said. He hung up the phone before she could ask any more questions, and pulled over when he was a respectable distance away, tossing the phone in some random houses trash can, before heading to the motel.


	18. Chapter 18

Alice and Sam were both on their laptops when Dean came in.  
"That was quick. Did you get anything useful out of him?" Alice asked.  
"He was dead," Dean said. Both Alice and Sam looked up at that as he threw his jacket onto a chair.  
"Killed. Someone tore out his fingernails, teeth, and his left eye," Dean said. "So, I'm thinking whoever this is also needs some human parts for the spell. Does this narrow anything down at all?" he asked.  
Alice shook her head, looking mystified. "I've never heard of anything like it before. I mean, they could be using the parts separately in spells. But human parts are basically the most valuable and potent spell ingredients out there. If this were a witch on a scavenger hunt, I would have expected that they would at least take some vital organs, hair... probably just take and preserve the whole body. I guess it is possible that they didn't want to get their hands too dirty, but it's unlikely since it kind of comes with the career choice."  
"So does that rule out a witch?" he asked aloud.  
"No. I don't know what else it could be besides a witch," Alice said. She stood, going for her jacket. "We should get back to his house, poke around a bit and see if we find anything worthy of note," she said.  
Dean cleared his throat, drawing her attention. "Yeah, I kinda called the cops," he said.  
Alice stared at him for a moment, before shaking her head, and sitting back on the bed, letting her face fall into her hands. She stayed that way for a few moments, Dean watching tensely, before she sat up straight again.  
"Don't call the cops. Ever dummy. They would have found him eventually anyways," she said.  
Dean decided to do the safest thing, which he figured was to keep his mouth shut.  
"Now what?" Sam asked finally.  
"You keep looking into this places history, especially the history surrounding the dead guy," she said. "And check around a bit more, see if you can find anything about the three people who supposedly skipped town these past couple months," she said.  
"What are you going to do?" Dean asked.  
"The locals know what we look like. This town has such a small population I wouldn't be surprised if every Dick Joe and Harry for three miles around knows there're people around here asking about the mutilations. I'm going to try to shift into someone they don't know, which by the way, is very hard to do when you don't have a DNA sample on hand, and pose as an FBI agent," she said, walking into the bathroom and closing the door behind her. Sam turned to look at Dean, sympathy screaming from him.  
"Shut up," Dean growled, grabbing his coat and heading for the door.  
"Where are you going?" Sam asked.  
"To get a drink," Dean said.  
"Dude, we're working a case, and it's midday," Sam said.  
"Relax, I'm not gonna go crazy or anything," Dean said, walking out. Sam shook his head, and went back to his computer.

Lance Treadwall watched Dean leave the motel from his car, and his eyes followed him as he walked down the street. He pulled his phone out, and dialled a number quickly.  
"Terry? I was right. There was something odd about that guy who showed up at my place," he said, watching him go. "No, he's a hunter. I'd guess one of his last hunts was ghost or shifter, and that's why he smells like one. And it looks like he's got two friends, a girl and some other guy. The other guy just left, heading for The Red Roman it looks like," he said. "No, I can't, I'm watching the others, you send someone." He rolled his eyes. "Just get it done then." He snapped the phone shut, and went back to watching the motel.

Dean did go into the bar with the intention of only having one drink. He took his time with it, partially angry at Alice for reacting the way she had, and partially just mad at himself because he knew she was right. He finished his drink, and was about to get up and leave, but the bartender stopped him.  
"Are you okay?" he asked.  
"What? 'Course," Dean said, waving him off.  
"You look kind of down. Girl problems?" the man asked.  
"Something like that," Dean replied.  
"Thought so. I can smell relationship problems a mile away," the man said. "Want another?"  
"Nah, I'm good," Dean said.  
"It's on the house," the bartender offered.  
Dean considered the offer, and the option of going back and dealing with cranky Alice.  
"What the hell. Sure," Dean said, sitting back down.

Alice knew it was going to look suspicious as hell, an FBI officer showing up so quickly after a body being found. She was planning to tell them that she had ben in the area, and had phoned it in, and been told to go ahead and get the details of what was going on. She shifted into Frans Nicken, a drunk she'd impersonated for a while a few weeks before Sam had called her, and she'd gotten tangled up with them again. It was kind of funny, she thought as she drove over to the station. When they'd first met, she'd been the one getting the Winchesters wrapped up in epic battles between her and demons. Now, the tables had turned, and they were the ones who had caused the problem. Of, course, since Sam told her that the 'problem' had been caused by the same devils gate that she'd made it out of, it had worked out for the better, at least for her. She got to the station, unsurprised when they bought her story, but still being cautious never the less. They showed her the body, and she asked around to see if anything like it had happened before. Apparently, this was the worst thing that had ever happened in Byhalia. She left a few hours later, after watching the autopsy, and making sure that the coroner knew to call her when they got the full toxicology report back, or if anything odd happened. By the time she headed back to the motel, it was around 5:00 in the afternoon. "Did you find anything?" she asked Sam as she headed for the bathroom to shift back into herself. "Nothing point nothing. The record keeping in this town is just awful. I mean, they don't have jack squat on Agatha Robbins, or Teresa Linnly, and the only thing in here about either of the Bentunes is that they founded and ran the animal shelter."  
"Figures. Dead ends on Jimmy Juniors body too. Maybe the toxicology report'll come back with something we can actually use," she called from in the bathroom. He focused more on the computer, to ignore her grunts and the sounds of bone grinding and skin hitting the floor. She came back out about ten minutes later, and sat across the table from him.  
"I think that's the fastest I've shifted yet, even if you include getting undressed and redresssed and cleaning up after it," she said.  
Sam nodded, still watching the computer screen. They both looked up as they heard a few clicks and clacks from outside. Their eyes met, and Alice drew her gun, Sam moving around to the other side of the door, ready to tackle anything monstrous that might come in.  
After a few moments, the door opened, and Dean stumbled in, a half-empty beer in hand. He closed the door, and went to lock it, but missed the latch by about two inches. Sam and Alice watched, Sams eyebrows raised so high it was almost laughable, as Dean kept trying to lock the door, and kept missing. He knocked the handle and the door opened outwards again, and he almost fell out, only keeping upright by hanging onto the door handle. His weight opened the door further, dumping him out on the cement outside. Alice and Sam walked over, looking down at him.  
"Dude, how much did you drink?" Sam asked.  
Dean stared up at them, and started giggling, rolling onto his side as he broke out in an uncontrollable fit of laughter.  
"I don't think he's drunk," Alice said. She bent down and grabbed his arm, trying to pull him up. He was still laughing, and Sam moved to his other side, pulling him up. They pulled him into the room, and he took another drink of the beer that he was still clutching. It had spilled when he fell though, and he turned it upside down, looking disappointed when nothing came out. He dropped it as Sam closed the door, fixing his eyes on Alice.  
"Have I ever told you that you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen?" he asked, his voice slurred. His eyes kept flitting from her face to a spot a few inches to her side. She shook her head.  
"Did someone give you something?" she asked.  
"You gave me everything," he replied. "Does that count?"  
"You think someone drugged him?" Sam asked.  
"I couldn't 'ave said it better myself Sammy," Dean said as they half pulled half carried him towards the bed. "She's like a drug to me. But the good kind."  
"Yeah. I think someone drugged him," Alice said, letting him drop facedown on the bed.  
"Who?" Sam asked, moving his feet onto the bed. Dean rolled over, pulling Alice down next to him, and clutching her to him, running his hands over her.  
"Probably whoever's killing the cats, and people," Alice said, ignoring Deans actions as he started kissing her neck from behind. "Which would suggest that whoever it is has figured out who we are, but is unwilling to kill us, so it's probably some warty teenager who wants to make a deal with a demon for their crush's eternal love, or something equally idiotic. If it were a witch who really knew what they were doing, Dean would be dead right now." She turned back to look at Dean, to ask him a question, but he kissed her instead. Sam watched uncomfortably, glancing at the door and probably contemplating escape. Alice broke away from him, putting the length of her arm between them.  
"Dean, do you remember anything odd or out of place about the bar you went to?" she asked.  
"You weren't there," he said, pouting a bit, before taking advantage of the fact that she was now facing him, and closing the distance between them, rolling atop her.  
"Dean- I don't- that's not-" She dodged as he tried to kiss her again, and finally rolled them so she was atop him, pinning his wrists to the bed above his head.  
"Besides that, was there anything?" she asked.  
"You should really wear black more often, you look great in black," he said, not resisting the new position.  
"Black is all she wears Dean," Sam said, exasperated.  
"Oh." He started laughing again, his face scrunching up and his entire body shaking beneath Alice. Alice sniffed, wrinkling her nose.  
"I think he is a bit drunk. They probably just gave him some sort of aphrodisiac, and it acted along with the alcohol to create this effect. I would bet that they knew exactly what would happen," Alice said thoughtfully, watching Dean as he kept laughing.  
"Should I go check out the bar?" Sam asked.  
"That's probably a good idea," Alice said. "Dean, what bar did you go to?"  
He kept laughing.  
"Dean, I need to know what bar you went to. Dean? Dean!" He still didn't respond, and she was getting to the end of her leash. She bent down next to his ear.  
"You know, there're a few things I'd like to do with you at the moment, but regrettably, Sam's still in the room," she said.  
He looked over at Sam(Or the spot a few feet above his head) and screwed his eyes shut in an attempt to glare.  
"Go away Fuzzy," he said.  
"Fuzzy? Where did that even come from?" Sam asked.  
"Why don't you give Sam the name of the bar you went to, and he can go out, and we can stay here, and..." Alice trailed off, raising her eyebrows suggestively.  
"Oh, right. The Red Roman," Dean said.  
"Okay. I'm outta here then," Sam said, heading for the door.  
"Lock the door behind you," Dean called after him.  
"Oh, and call before you come back. Don't come back until I pick up," she said.  
"What if I need backup?" Sam asked.  
"Rough it. Now scat Pringles," Dean said.  
Sam left without questioning why Dean was calling him Pringles. He stopped a man on the street, and he pointed him the the direction of the bar. It was packed inside, and he had no idea what he was looking for anyway. He frowned at the way his luck had gone, walked towards the bar, pushing past a few people to where the bartender was darting here and there, looking overrun.  
"Hey!" Sam yelled to try and get his attention over the noise.  
"One moment," the bartender said, running to get people their orders, before going over to Sam.  
"Busy night?" Sam asked.  
"Yeah. I think every man over twenty's in here tonight," he said.  
"Any reason in particular?" Sam asked, curious.  
"It's saturday. They're off work," the man said, shrugging.  
"But you aren't," Sam said.  
"Hey, I make good money for my time," the bartender said, grinning.  
"'Kay. Look, I'm actually here to ask about my brother, Dean. He came here, and-" Sam broke off as the guy bolted, abandoning talk as soon as Dean was mentioned. Sam went after him, men yelling in protest as he pushed past them and ran out into the street after the guy. He glanced back, looking terrified when he saw that Sam was gaining on him. He turned down a side street, and Sam turned quickly, following him. He reached out and grabbed him by the collar, and the man, panicking, did something that almost stopped Sam where he stood. He shrank, disappearing into the shirt that Sam was grasping. A small border collie fell out of the bottom of the shirt, and tangled itself up in the pants. Sam grabbed it quickly, and it snapped at him, but Sam pulled his gun out.  
"Move and I will shoot you," he threatened. The dogs tail went down between its legs, and it whimpered.  
"You're a skinwalker, aren't you?" Sam asked. The dog made no reply. "Ok, shift back, now. I'm not going to hurt you unless you try to run. I've just got a few questions for you," Sam said. The dog hesistated, but Sam shook the gun at him emphatically, and he shifted back quickly, pulling his clothes on. Sam grabbed ahold of his arm, putting his gun back in his pants, but pointedly keeping on hand on it. "Don't try anything," he warned. He pulled his phone out while the bartender cowered on the pavement close to a fence, and dialled Alices phone number. It rang, but she didn't pick up. He put his phone away, figuring he would try and get him to talk on his own.

Alice wouldn't lie. It was probably the most enjoyable two hours of her life. But that didn't stop her from being relieved when Dean finally seemed to wind down, and passed out. She picked up her phone and called Sam while she was pulling her clothes back on.  
"Alice? Is it uh... safe to come in?" he asked.  
"Yeah," she said, peeking out the window at him. He was sitting in the impala, probably to stay warm, and she did feel a tiny bit of guilt over turning him out into the cold. She forgot all about it, however, when he pulled a scared looking man out with him.  
"Who's that?" she asked, pointing at him when they came in.  
"This is Terry. He's a Skinwalker," Sam said.  
Dean turned over behind them, and Alice glared at him.  
"You'd better not wake him up," she threatened.  
"But it's not a witch killing the cats," Sam said. He nodded in Terry's direction, and Alice raised her eyebrows at him.  
"How about Jimmy Bentune? Did you kill him too?" she asked.  
"I didn't kill any of them, I swear," Terry said,  
Alice looked at Sam, confused. "There're two different tribes of skinwalkers in this town," Sam started explaining. "Basically, cats and dogs. And I didn't know that Skinwalkers even were anything but dogs," Sam said.  
"Oh trust me, they come in all shapes and sizes, and colors of furry adorability," Alice said drily, though it did make sense to her. It explained why Ms. Robbins house smelled of cat so strongly, even after the cat had been dead for a few weeks. And also the catnip tea. "So, the three cats were killed by dogs? Why the missing appendages?" she asked.  
"Trophies, basically," Sam said. "Terry said something like the claws and teeth being taken were symbolic of like, disarming them, and makeing them harmless, and the eyes are just... uh, kept," Sam said.  
"Great. So JJ was one of the cats, and you went ahead and killed him while he was in human form?" Alice asked Terry.  
"What? No! No, Jimmy was a good friend of mine," Terry said. "He was one of us."  
"He was a canine shifter," Sam explained for Alice.  
"Yeah, I got that," Alice said. "So the feline shifters went after him?" she sighed, shaking her head. "We should just bail. Looks like this is strictly between the cats and the dogs, so there shouldn't be any humans getting hurt."  
"What?! You just want to leave a town full of monsters sitting around?" Sam asked.  
"Hate to break it to you Winchester, because I know you're scared of the kitte cats and the little doggies, but Skinwalkers are usually harmless," Alice said.  
"Well I hate to break it to you, but things have changed a bit since you were last around, in case you hadn't noticed," Sam said. "I've heard of Skinwalkers ripping the hearts right out of people."  
"Have you ever ripped someones heart out?" Alice addressed Terry.  
"What? Um... no," he said.  
"That's irrelevant," Sam argued. "The point isn't that they haven't done it so far, the point is that they might in the future, and we might not be around to stop them!"  
"So what are we going to do, kill everyone in the town and hope no one in the outside world notices?" Alice asked. "Trust me, I know from personal experience that when an entire town is slaughtered, it raises alarms. They'll have feds crawling all over this place, and the chances that we can pull it off, either without leaving any evidence that we did it, or eradicating all the evidence, is slim to none. They'll have an national manhunt going for us," Alice said.  
"You could shift into someone from town and do it," Sam said.  
"Alone? Against what's basically a small army of shifters? I'm crazy, but I"m suicidal," Alice said.  
"We have to do something," Sam said.  
"God damn it Sam, there's nothing we can do," Alice said.  
"You know, I agree with her," Terry spoke up, pointing at Alice from where he was cowering against the wall.  
"About what?" Deans voice came from the bed. Everyone turned to look at him as he sat up in bed. Alice picked his clothes off of the floor, and walked over to him, making sure the blanket stayed over him as she hauled him to his feet, and steered him into the bathroom.  
"Get dressed, we are leaving, now," she said, closing the door on him.  
"We're not going anywhere," Sam said, putting his hands on his hips.  
"The hell we're not. I'm not doing this, and I'm pretty sure if Dean were in his right mind, he'd agree with me," she said.  
Sam pushed past her and knocked on the door of the bathroom. "Dean? You wanna kill some skinwalkers?" he asked.  
"Hell yeah!" he replied through the door. "You're outvoted," Sam told Alice.  
"He's intoxicated. And drugged," Alice said. "His vote doesn't count."  
"I'll vote on Alices side," Terry said, sounding a bit desperate. "That makes two."  
"Dogs don't count," Sam said.  
"Since it's a tie, we go with the safe option," Alice said. "Get the hell out of dodge. Maybe, we'll come back with other hunters. Maybe we'll just forget this town exists."  
"Not happening," Sam said.  
"You know the easy way to decide this thing?" Dean said, emerging from the bathroom. Alice frowned at him. He was wearing his socks on his hands, and his shirt was on backwards and inside out. His belt had been tied around his neck, and was holding on a plaid flannel shirt that was hanging down over his back, and he was barefoot. Terry's eyes widened when he saw him, and Dean grinned when he caught sight of him.  
"Hey Terry!" he said, clapping him on the back. He pointed at Alice. "This is the one I was telling you about. Isn't she even more beautiful than I said about?"  
Alice raised her eyebrows at Terry, who shrank even further against the wall. "What'd you say about solving this Dean?" Sam asked.  
"Right. Yeah, I know how," he said.  
"How?" Alice asked.  
Dean held out his hands, and demonstrated rock paper and scissors. Alice grinned, and Sam shrugged.  
"What's more fair than that?" he asked. He turned to Alice, and the first round resulted in Alice winning over his paper with a scissors.  
"Best out of three," Sam said, looking vexed.  
This time, he pulled a rock, and Alice paper.  
"I win. Let's get the hell out of dodge," she said.  
"So you're not going to kill us all?" Terry asked hopefully.  
"You can't pin something as big as this on rock paper scissors," Sam said.  
"I've pinned bigger things on a coin toss, which is a lot more luck than skill," Alice said.  
"I'm still doing this," Sam said.  
"You can. But I'm not having any part of it, and I'm not going to let dopey here get himself killed either," she said, nodding in Deans direction.  
"I need help with this Alice. I know I can't do it alone," he said.  
"Then call other hunters. You have to know some," Alice said.  
"I know Bobby, and that's it," Sam said.  
"I'll give you some numbers," Alice said. "But I'm-" Terry darted past her suddenly, and she cut off, taking up chase immediately, Sam following and Dean staring after them.  
"Hunters! Hunters! Hunters, hunters HUNTERS!" Terry screamed as he ran through the streets. Some people stopped and stared at him like he was a lunatic. But a few straightened suddenly, and started running after Terry, and noticeably away from Sam and Alice. Alice skid to a stop, and grabbed Sam as he was going past.  
"We've got to catch him!" Sam said, trying to break away, but Alice, stronger as a shifter, held him back.  
"They already know we're here. We're hoplessly outnumbered, and they're going to kill us before anyone we call can get here. We have to get out of here, now, before they close the town up," Alice said.  
"Why wouldn't they want us leaving?" Sam demanded.  
"So we don't tell other hunters idiot," Alice snapped. She turned, running back in the direction they'd come from. "Come on!"  
Sam glanced at the few skinwalkers now running through the town, all shouting at once about hunters, and cursed, turning, and running after Alice.


	19. Chapter 19

Alice and Sam ran down the streets, noticing that there were people in pursuit when they were almost back to the motel. They made it inside, and closed the door, locking it, though Alice doubted that it would do much good if they really wanted to get in.  
"So now what?" Sam asked, peering out the curtains. Alice joined him, and she could already see men and women crowding around the motel. Two men had rifles, some looked frightened, others angry, and some just plain confused. Her eyes darted over to the Impala, knowing that most of their weapons were in the cars trunk.  
Alice jumped back as the window exploded in front of her, a shard of glass drawing a thin line of blood across her cheek. She fell to the floor amid the glass, her mind and reasoning telling her that someone had fired a shot at the window, and got to her feet, ducking behind the small table. She could see Sam crouching under the window, and Dean was- Where was Dean?  
"Dean?" she called. No one responded. "Sam, where's Dean?" Alice asked.  
"Bathroom?" Sam suggested, peeking up over the window again.  
"He's not in there," Alice said. "Can you see him?" she asked.  
"No," Sam replied from the window.  
"Damn it," she swore.  
"Now what?" Sam repeated.  
Alice knew they were surrounded. She didn't need to check to know that the room didn't have a bathroom window,or anything else they could use to get out the back. And if she were the Skinwalkers, she would have men out back too. Always better safe than sorry, if you had the resources to play that way, which she assumed they did.  
"You're a fucking idiot Sam Winchester," she told him, glaring. "You and your stupid brother both."  
"How does that help anything?" Sam asked.  
Alive blew a strand of hair out of her face. "It doesn't," she said, leaning back against the wall, and trying to think of a way out of this one.

Dean wandered down a road, attracting some odd looks from passerby, though he didn't mind them. He kept walking, the thought that he was going to or away from anywhere never even crossing his mind. The initial fog of the drugs was beginning to lift, to some extent at least, and he was a lot more aware of a few things. Mostly that he was hungry.  
"Sir?" someone said behind him. He kept walking, the possibility not even crossing his mind that they could be talking to him. To his left, a woman walked out of her yard, and tapped him. "Sir?" she asked.  
He turned to look at her, and she looked vaguely familiar. A name came to mind along with the face. Janice. Where had he met her before? Where ever he had, she was still stunning.  
"Are you alright?" she asked, looking concerned.  
"I'm perfectly fine," he said.  
She looked him over. "Are you drunk?" she asked.  
"I was. I think..." he trailed off, staring at her.  
"Would you like some coffee? I just put some on," she offered.  
"Sure. Coffee..." He wasn't sure what that was.  
She smiled, leading him up the path to her front door. "Why don't you wait here, and I'll get you some to take with you? It's getting a bit late to really be bringing people into the house," she said. She walked inside before he could answer, and he stared after her, confused, before walking in after her. He followed her into her kitchen, and stood in the doorway, watching her. She poured the drink into a styrofoam cup, before turning. She started when she almost bumped into him. "Wha-"  
He leaned forward and kissed her. She made a small sound of suprise in the back of her throat, and tried to back up, but he followed her, backing her up against the counter. She set the coffee down on the counter, and used both hands to push him back.  
"Whoa, I don't even know your name," she said, smiling playfully.  
"Me niether," he said. He leaned back in, and she went along with the kiss this times, still smiling.

Alice and Sam stayed up through the night. They'd piled the dresser, the bed, the table and chairs against the door and window, leaving just a small space in the window so they could peek out. Fairly early on, the Impala was raided from where it was parked, and all Sam could think about through it was how mad Dean would be if they hurt the car itself. As far as he could tell, they didn't, though he couldn't be sure. Apart from firing a few experimental shots into the room, the Skinwalkers seemed perfectly content to wait for them to come out. And Alice had to acknowledge that it was inevitable that they would. There was no help coming for them, unless Dean, where ever he was now, sobered up, and even then, it was 1 against(If you assumed that everyone in town was a Skinwalker, and they were all outside) 234. And while she did usually make out that she considered Dean to much less intelligent than she actually did, she was certain that he wasn't clever enough to-  
She broke off, remembering that she had her phone on her, and fishing in her pocket and pulling it out. Of course, she was an idiot.  
"Do you have any useful people who can be contacted by phone? Hunters, friends that owe you favors?" she asked, dialing a hunter, Ronald Trists number. She got an answering machine.  
"Yeah," Sam said. "Do you?"  
"Ronny, this is Alice Smith. I know it's been a while, but I'm in Byhalia Mississippi, in a mess, and I need your help getting out. We're under siege in the Karioni hotel, so get your ass and anyone you know here. The entire town is Skinwalkers, and believe it or not, they actually are trouble, so get your ass here, fast." She hung up, addressing Sams question as she dialed another number.  
"I have tons of contacts. The problem is that I was dead for a good long chunk of time, and I don't know how many are still alive, or answering phones, or willing to come help me," she said. Sam would have estimated she called fifty of her contacts, only getting about ten of them of them directly, and of those, about half either hung up straight away, or yelled at her for a bit, before hanging up. All Sam could think of was Bobby and Ellen, though he figured that they both knew a few people. They left Ellen a message, and Bobby answered the phone, and after Alice explained their situation to him, he told her to call Sam and idjit for him, and she assured him that she already had, quite thoroughly. He told her that he would get there as soon as he could, and bring whoever he could call up in a hurry. When she got off the phone with Bobby, Alice started dialing another number.  
"I thought you called everyone you knew," Sam said "I did," Alice said.  
"Then who are you calling?" he asked.  
"Your brother," she replied as it rang. Dean didn't pick up, and she left a message, before hanging up.  
"You think this is going to work?" Sam asked.  
"It has too," Alice replied. "Just do what I tell you to, and try not to mess anything else up."

Dean woke up slowly. At first he thought it was Alice he was lying against. But he quickly realized that it wasn't. They felt different. Skin a bit too smooth, lacking the various assorted scars that Alice was peppered with. Really too thin to be Alice. His eyes snapped open, and he sat up abruptly, groaning at the pounding in his head. The girl he'd been lying against woke, yawning and stretching as she smiled up at him.  
"Morning," she said.  
Dean frowned as he struggled to remember last night. The memories were fuzzy, like he was seeing them through a steamy window. He realized what had happened, and got out of bed quickly, ignoring the girl, Janice, he remembered her name was, the same from the animal shelter. He pulled his pants on, searching around for the rest of his clothes.  
"Someone's in a hurry," Janice said playfully. "Wanting to get back to your Alice?"  
"What?" Dean asked distractedly, pulling his shirt on.  
"You kept calling me Alice last night. Girlfriend, I'm guessing?" she said.  
"Uh..." he bent down to pick his phone up off the floor, and tucked it back into his pocket.  
"Don't worry. I won't tell," Janice said, sitting up in bed. "You never did tell me your name though."  
"Socks?" he asked, looking around for them.  
"That's an odd name," Janice said, tossing one that had been on the nightstand to him as he found the other hanging off the mirror.  
"Yep," he said, pulling his shoes on.  
"So you're just leaving?" Janice asked.  
"No offense to you, but yeah," Dean said. He got up, hurrying out before she could ask any more questions. He hurried through the streets, heading for the hotel as quickly as he could. He could remember something about Skinwalkers... killing Skinwalkers? He rounded the corner, and immediately ducked back around it when he saw the crowd camped outside. There had to be at least fifty people there, most armed with guns.  
"What the..." he trailed off, taking his phone out and dialing Sams number. He got voicemail, and cursed, trying Alice.  
"Dean?" she asked.  
"Alice? What the hells going on?" he asked.  
"We're under siege at the motel, by Skinwalkers. Turns out there wasn't a witch at all, just a miniature war between cat Skinwalkers and dog Skinwalkers," Alice said.  
"There're cat skinwalkers?" Dean asked.  
"There are everything you can think of Skinwalkers," Alice said. "Look, I called everyone I knew, and I've only got about five who said they'd be here for sure. Can you do something to draw them away from the motel? Even if it just draws enough of them for us to get past them," Alice said.  
"I can try," Dean said, walking down an alley away from the motel. "But I don't know what-"  
He stopped as a man stepped out of the shadows, dodging the punch that he threw his way. He was unprepared for one man, and he didn't even see the second step out of the shadows behind him, before he felt something hit against the back of his head, and the world went dark.

"Dean? Dean? Are you there? Dean?!" Alice shook her phone in frustration, before putting it away, her face falling into her hands.  
"What happened?" Sam asked.  
"I don't know, he's gone," Alice said.  
"So now what?" Sam asked.  
"Pray that he didn't get caught. And that if he did, that he gets away," Alice said.

Dean could tell he was in a car when he came to. He opened his eyes, but he still couldn't see anything. There was a bag over his head. He tried his hands, and found that they were bound, as were his feet. The car stopped moving, and he held still, feigning unconsciousness. Someone hauled him out of the car, holding under his arms, and dragging him across what felt like pavement, and up stairs. He heard a doorbell, and there was a pause.  
"What's going on out there?" a woman's voice asked.  
"The three new people in town? They're hunters," a man said. "This is one of them."  
"Come in," the woman said. He was dragged inside, and bumped against a few walls, before being dropped on a carpeted floor.  
"Where're the other two?" the woman asked.  
"Holed up in the Karioni. Lance and the dogs are keeping them in," another man said. From the vehemence in his tone, Dean would guess that these were cats.  
"Do you know if they've called other hunters or not?" the woman asked.  
"No. The motel land lines have been cut, but if they have phones on them, then they probably have."  
"Dogs. This is going to be the death of us all," the woman said.  
"What do we do?" the first man asked.  
"We can't do anything," the woman said.  
"I could though," Dean spoke up from the floor, sensing a way out of this.  
"He's awake," the second man said.  
"Shut up Hunter," the first said, and Dean yelped, partly in surprise, and partly in pain as he was kicked in the gut.  
"Frederick, stop," the woman said. "Take that thing off his head." The first man, Frederick, hauled Dean into a kneeling position, and started to yank the bag off his head, but the woman stopped him with a reprimand.  
"In a civil manner," she said sharply. Frederick grumbled, but proceeded to take the hood off a lot more gently than Dean guessed he had been planning to. Dean could now see that he was in a sitting room. Frederick was standing next to him, and the other man was in the center of the room, standing next to the woman, who Dean recognized now that he could see.  
"You were in the paper," he said. "Melinda Roberts?"  
"Matilda Robbins," she said drily. "How can you help us?"  
"Well, for starters, when the other hunters get here, because we did call them, I can tell them that you guys are innocent, human citizens," he said.  
"And what do you want in return for this?" Matilda said.  
"Just a distraction. I don't care what it is. But it has to be big, to get as many dog Skinwalkers away from that hotel as possible, and then we bust my friends out of there," he said.  
"Why not just wait for your other friends to arrive?" Matilda asked.  
"Do you really think those dogs are going to leave them alive long enough for help to come?" Dean asked. "Look, you aren't losing anything here. You win whatever little cat and dog fight you've got going on here, you don't get wiped out by hunters, me and my friends go on our way, alive, and everyone's happy," Dean said.  
Matilda considered for a moment, before nodding to Frederick.  
"Untie him."  
"We can't trust him. What if he brings his hunter friends here and kills us anyway?" Frederick asked.  
"We don't have a whole lot of other options, besides packing up our families and running, and I don't think anyone wants that, now do we?" Matilda asked.  
"We'll do whatever we need to protect ourselves. And I don't think the best thing is to trust a hunter," Frederick said.  
"Well then, by all means, take your family, and run. After you untie him," Matilda said calmly. Frederick stared at her for a moment, before shaking his head, and pulling a pocket knife out, cutting the ties around Deans wrists and feet. Dean stood.  
"Okay, first off, how many dog Skinwalkers are there?" he asked.  
"Fifty? Eighty, maybe. The tribe just moved in on our territory a few months ago," the first man said.  
"Okay, call up all your... cat friends, and get them somewhere separate from the dogs," Dean said. Matilda nodded at Frederick, who was still standing by Dean, and he hurried off. "Also, are there any humans in this town?" Dean asked.  
"Just you and your friends at the hotel," Matilda said.  
"Good. Do you have any explosives?" Dean asked.  
"No," Matilda answered.  
"Okay. Then we'll have to make some," Dean said, moving off to search for ingredients.

Alice paced back and forth in the room. It had been almost five hours since she'd last heard from Dean. If the Skinwalkers had him, and he was still alive, she would have expected them to use him to draw her and Sam out, which meant that he had either gotten away, or was dead. If he'd gotten away, she would have expected to have heard back from him by now. Unless he'd lost his phone. But he could either steal or borrow someone elses. Unless-  
She shook her head, forcing herself to stop thinking about Dean.  
"Come on," she said, pulling out one of the drawers in the dresser which was against the door, and looking through it.  
"Come on and what?" Sam asked.  
"We can't just sit here, we need a way out," she said.  
"There is no way out," Sam said.  
"There's always a way out," Alice said. "There always has to be." She slammed the last drawer shut, and started looking around the room for an air vent, or a part or the wall that looked like it had been recently knocked in and plastered over. She found nothing, but didn't give up. She took a chair away from the door, and stood on it, tapping on the ceiling.  
"Alice, I already looked, there's nothi-" Sam cut off as Alice thrust her hand up as hard as she could, her fist breaking through the ceiling. Sam stood, walking over as she yanked down on the ceiling, creating a larger hole.  
"How did you-"  
"Shapeshifter Sam. I'm stronger than you are," she said. "Give me a boost," she said. Sam walked over, pushing her up, and she winced as her head hit against the roof.  
"What's up there?" Sam asked.  
"Crawlspace. It's tiny. I don't know if you're going to fit," Alice said. "Get your ass up here anyways," she said. Sam stood on the chair and pulled himself up, just barely fitting if he lay flat on his stomach.  
"I don't know if I can move up here," he groaned.  
"Shh. Try," Alice said, crawling ahead. Sam managed to get his arms in front of him, and kind of pull/scoot himself along after Alice. It was hot in the crawlspace, and they were both drenched in sweat by the time that Alice stopped.  
"This is the back of the hotel," she said.  
"How do you know?" Sam asked.  
"I don't," Alice said. Sam pushed himself back as she twisted herself around, contorting into odd positions until she managed to get her feet against the wall. She kicked hard, her feet going straight through the wall. She kicked away the worst splinters of wood, before pushing herself out and dropping to the ground outside. Sam pulled himself out, managing to twist himself around so he landed on his side rather than his face. Thankfully, there was grass rather than asphalt or cement where he landed. The back of the hotel faced a steep downwards slope, which lead into a thin wooded area. Alice headed towards this, and Sam followed her. "They're out!" someone yelled. Sam and Alice glanced back, to see men running around the building after them, probably alerted by the noise from Alice kicking a wall out. Sam and Alice ran, heading for the wooded area, and the men took up chase, firing their guns. They ran down the slope, Sam overtaking Alice. He heard Alice cry out, and turned to see her fall, tumbling down the slope.  
"Alice!" he yelled, running back up after her. She stopped her fall about halfway down, and stood, grimacing and holding a hand over her thigh, which was bleeding from a gunshot wound.  
"Run!" she yelled, moving downward as well as she could after him. She could feel an unmistakable burn in the wound that was completely different from the sharp pain of the gunshot itself, which told her that the bullets were silver. Of course, they were fighting against other Skinwalkers. Alice fell again, only to be hauled up by her hair as one of the men caught up with her.  
"Don't shoot them, we need them alive," a man yelled. "Stop or we'll kill the girl," he yelled to Sam. Sam froze, turning to see that they did have Alice, a gun to her head.  
"Run, god damn it!" Alice yelled. The man holding her responded by butting the gun against her head.  
"Okay! Okay, just... just stop," Sam said, holding his hands up. The man beckoned Sam, and Sam started up the slope, fighting to keep his footing with his hands over his head. Alice was hauled to the top while he was making his way up. Alice was lashing out at her captor, but he hit her again, and with a silver bullet lodged inside of her, Alice was almost weaker than a human. A man nudged Sam in the back with his rifle.  
"Move," he ordered. Sam started walking, following the man holding Alice upright. She was bleeding heavily, leaving a trail behind them. They brought her around to the front of the motel. A man that Sam recognized as Lance Treadwall was standing apart from the rest, and Terry was next to him. They walked forward to meet them.  
Terry pointed at Sam accusingly. "He's the one that wanted to kill everyone," Terry said, sounding upset.  
"Terry, just get back before you get hurt," Lance said, walking up. Terry slunk back into the crowd, and Lance regarded the two hunters. He drew in a long breath, his nostrils flaring as he eyed the wound on Alices leg, which was still steaming faintly.  
"What's a Shifter doing hanging around with Hunters?" he asked her.  
"That's my business," Alice said. Lance looked a bit annoyed, but didn't press that point.  
"Who else knows you're here?" he asked instead.  
"A few people," Alice said. "We're expected back by monday, and they know exactly where we are. If you kill us, they'll come for you," she lied.  
"Then we'll take care of them too. Where's the other hunter you came with?" Lance asked.  
"What other hunter?" Sam asked. Alice shot him a quick glance, trying to tell him to keep his mouth shut.  
"I know there's another one, I saw him leavin' the motel," Lance said. "Where's he hiding?"  
"We were hoping you could tell us," Alice replied steadily. "Look, we didn't come here with the intention of killing any Skinwalkers," she started.  
"You sure to seem to have gotten the idea to kill us durin' your stay," Lance said.  
"No, we decided against it," Alice said.  
"Yeah right. More likely you decided to get help, then come back and kill us," Lance said.  
"Look, I've run across your kind before, and in my experience, you don't need to be hunted. This guy here," she nodded at Sam. "Isn't the brightest, and tends to shoot first and ask questions later. You can ask Terry if you'd like, I'm sure he'll tell you that I convinced him it wasn't necessary to kill anyone, and we were going to leave," she said.  
Lance regarded her for a moment. "Terry? That true?" he asked.  
"Yessir, but I thought the lady and the other guy were gonna leave and he was still gonna hunt us," Terry said.  
"That is true, but I can guarantee you Mr..."  
"Treadwall," Lance said.  
"Mr. Treadwall. I can guarantee you that we'll leave, as soon as we find our friend, and the only way you'll ever hear from us again is if we hear about humans dying around here," she said.  
Lance considered it, before shaking his head. "You seem like an honest kind of person, but I can't risk letting that one go," he said, pointing at Sam. "I believe you that you won't come back, so I'll let you go, but this one has to stay."  
"You mean he has to die," Alice said. Lance shrugged, and Alice shook her head. "No. He's stupid and annoying, but he's coming out with me, or I'm not going out at all," she said.  
"Sorry then Missy," Lance said. The ground rocked with a sudden explosion, and flames erupted from a building across the street. All eyes turned to it, and Alice took the moment to quickly slip her hand into her boot, and pull out her knife, slipping it up her sleeve out of sight.  
"Watch them," Lance said, hurrying off, quite a few people following him. There was a second explosion from a building a bit down the road, and gunshots rang out, drawing Alices gaze.  
"Sam get down!" she yelled, wrenching herself from the grasp of the man holding her and dropping to the ground quickly. The man who'd been holding her tried to wrestle her up, but fell over, bleeding from a shot to the chest. The firing continued, and she heard someone calling her name over the fire. She looked up, and Saw Dean motioning for them from behind a line of others. Sam help Alice to her feet, and they ran over, Dean hopping into a car and holding the door open until Sam and Alice piled in, before they shut it. There was a man in the front seat driving.  
"You know when I said distraction I didn't mean to ignite a shootout," Alice said as they sped away from the chaos outside the motel.  
"Yeah, it's great to see you too," Dean said. He caught sight of the blood still dripping from her leg. "You're shot," he said.  
"Gee, I would never have noticed," Alice said.  
"I think they hit your artery," Sam said.  
"I think that you're an- AH!" Alice hissed as Dean clamped a hand tightly over her thigh.  
"Find something to stop this bleeding," Dean told Sam. Sam looked around, the car, finding a rag on the car floor. "Hold that on there," Dean told Alice as Sam handed her the rag.  
"I know how to take care of a gunshot," Alice snapped, yanking the rag away from Sam and pressing it down where Deans hand had been a moment before. "And no, Sam, no arteries were hit. But the bullet's still in there. It's silver."  
"What, they just happened to have silver bullets on hand?" Dean asked.  
"In case you haven't already gotten the back story, there's a war between two tribes of skinwalkers going on here Dean. Of course they have silver bullets." She nodded to the man driving. "Who's your friend?"  
"I'm Dolger," the man said.  
"He's a cat. And uh, we've got an alliance-thing with them, by the way," Dean said.  
"Really? How'd that come around?" Alice asked.  
"They kidnapped me, and I said that if they helped us, then when the hunters you said you called got here, then I'd tell them that the cats were humans, and that way, the hunters won't kill the cats," Dean said.  
"Not bad. For an idiot," Alice said.

They went back to Ms. Robbins house, the neighborhood surrounding which was currently crowded with every cat Skinwalker in town. They fixed Alice up, and set a perimeter around the houses containing people. The dogs all ran, seeming to realize that they couldn't get at the hunters that were already here, and that with more hunters on the way, they would be killed if they stayed. Hunters started arriving later the next day. The first was an old 'friend' of Alices, who'd been in Tennessee when he'd gotten the call. He left almost as soon as he found out that there wasn't a hunt anymore. Bobby arrived the next day, and he brought along along a few others. Most of them left straightaway, as Alices friend had, but Bobby opted to stay a while.  
Janice showed up to give Dean his jacket, which he'd left at her house. Alice laughed it off when Dean tried to offer her an explanation, saying that she didn't mind what he did, just as long as he came back to her at the end of the day.  
On the morning of the third day, the one they'd been planning to leave on, another hunter showed up.  
"Alice?" she asked. Alice turned, breaking into a grin when she saw her.  
"Riley? You're still kicking?"  
Riley was rather old, she looked like she was in her late fifties, and she walked with a limp. Alice embraced her, and Sam and Dean watched, not knowing what to make of the fact that Alice was hugging another human being. Or actually acting like something of a normal human being either.  
"Alice! You know, I heard rumors about you being back, but I didn't quite believe them. Are you really possessing a shifter?" Riley asked.  
"Yeah. How have you been?" Alice asked.  
"Oh, good. Getting older," Riley said.  
"Are you kidding? You look the same as you did the day I met you," Alice said playfully.  
"Are you two... friends?" Sam asked.  
"Good friends," Alice said.  
"Old friends now," Riley said.  
"She helped me, after the Trickster sent you back," Alice explained. "Sam, Dean, this is Riley Verasin. Riley, these are-"  
"Sam and Dean Winchester," Riley said. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you two," she said, holding her hand out for them to shake. They did, Riley looked them all over. "Let me guess. You're skipping town," she said.  
"Good memories made here. Time to move on," Alice said.  
"Why don't you let me get you lunch first? Who knows when we'll see each other next," Riley said.  
"It couldn't hurt," Alice said.  
Dean shrugged. "You know me. I'll never say no to a hamburger," he said.

They stopped at a diner, and Riley bought them all lunch. She and Alice finished ahead of the boys, and Alice joined Riley when she stepped outside for a smoke.  
"So, you and that Winchester, huh?" Riley asked.  
"What?" Alice asked.  
"You and Dean. You two have got some kind of body language going on there. Was he the one you told me about before you left that last time?" Riley asked.  
"Yeah," Alice said.  
Riley looked back through the window at the elder Winchester. "You know, you said it was complicated, but I don't think I realized just how complicated until I saw him. He's gotta be what, 30 tops?" she asked.  
"There were Tricksters and wormholes involved," Alice said.  
"Ah. Well that explains it," Riley said. "You've got a knack for getting caught up in complicated situations kid," she said.  
Alice chuckled. "You can say that again."  
"So have you have a plan to get him out of it?" Riley asked.  
"What?" Alice asked.  
"Dean. Do you have a plan for getting him out of his deal?" Riley asked.  
"What deal?" Alice asked.  
Riley turned to look at her sharply. "You don't know?" she asked, sounding surprised.  
"Don't know about what Riley?" Alice asked.  
"Woah. I would've expected... he sold his soul Alice," Riley said.  
It took Alice a moment to process that. "He can't have," she said finally.  
"Well he did. I think every hunter on the continent knows about it," Riley said.  
Alice didn't hear her over her own thoughts. "I've gotta go. Tell them I'll be back at the hotel," she said, starting off down the street.  
"Well it was nice meeting up with you again Alice," Riley yelled after her. "  
You too Riley," Alice replied, though she didn't turn.


	20. Chapter 20

Dean walked into the motel room to get Alice. Sam was waiting out in the car.  
"Alice?" he asked, stepping into the room. She was at the table, staring at the opposite wall.  
"What're you doing?" he asked. She stopped, though she didn't turn to look at him.  
"Riley told me you sold your soul," she said. Dean froze, a thousand thoughts running through his mind, but he didn't voice any of them. She turned to look at him.  
"Tell me it isn't true. Tell me that she just heard some stray rumors," Alice said softly.  
"Alice..."  
"Please Dean," she said, almost begging.  
He was tempted to. But even if she did believe him, he didn't have too long left. And someone would tell her beyond a doubt that it was true sooner or later.  
"I'm sorry," he said, because he didn't know what else to say.  
Alice took a breath, and stood, shaking her head. "No Dean. No. You don't know what sorry means yet. Do you realize what you're done? Where you're going?" she asked, not raising her voice. There was a kind of desperation in her words, one that he'd never heard there before. And fear.  
"How bad can it be anyway?" Dean said, trying to make a joke of it, as he had since the day he'd first made the deal, but forgetting that Alice had actually been to hell.  
"Bad, Dean. Worse. It escapes words. They call it hell for a reason," Alice said. "Trust me, I know."  
He didn't say anything, and she sighed. "How long do you have left?" she asked.  
"A bit less than three weeks," he said.  
"Three weeks? Why didn't you tell me about this? I could have done something," she said.  
"That's why. You would've tried to get out of the deal, and that can't happen. It's done Alice," he said.  
"Why? Dean, what's wrong with you? What would make you think that?" she demanded.  
"The terms of the deal were very specific. If I try to worm my way out of it, Sam dies," he said.  
"Sam? That can't be it. Dean, tell me you didn't-"  
"He was dead. I- I couldn't leave him," Dean said.  
"He was probably happier where he was," Alice argued.  
"But I wasn't," Dean said. "And Dad said to look after him."  
"I don't think he meant sell your soul for him," Alice said.  
"You didn't know our father," Dean said.  
"I probably knew your father better than you did," Alice said. "You forget that I met him before I met you. And I saw him in hell too. And that's the most revealing place a person can be. You don't have secrets there. You don't have to talk to someone to know exactly what they're thinking, exactly how they felt about every aspect of their lives. Your father loved you. Just as much as he loved Sam," Alice said.  
"It doesn't matter Alice. It's done. It can't be undone, and even if it could be, we're not going to try anything. It's my soul, I can do what I want with it," Dean snapped.  
"You don't want to do this with it!" Alice yelled. "You can't have any idea how much you're going regret this if it happens! Do you know what eternity is? That's how long you're going to be stuck in hell! I was fucking lucky enough that I got out after a few years, but chances are you won't be that lucky!" Alice realized that there were tears streaming down her cheeks, and she checked herself. She wiped them away, shaking her head and taking a breath to steady herself.  
"No. I'm not going to let you. I'll figure something out," she said.  
"Alice-"  
"It's not up for discussion," Alice said. She walked past him, out the door. He stood for a moment. He really didn't want to go to hell. But he was so afraid for Sammy. Before Alice had rejoined them, they'd been trying to track down the demon who held his contract. Maybe they could start that up again. He turned, and walked out, joining Sam and Alice in the car.

* * *

When Sam and Deam explained their previous plan to track down both the Colt and the demon who held Deans contract, Alice was immediately on board.

"Great. Let's find that Colt," Alice said. They were in the car, and it was night by now.  
"What about the demon?" Sam asked from the passenger seat. Dean was driving, and Alice was in the back.  
"Don't put the cart before the horse. We need something to kill her with first, and we obviously need something to do it with," Alice said.  
"We've got your knife," Dean said.  
"Trust me, you don't want to go up trying to stick her with knives. She'll kill you long before you get close enough," Alice said.  
"Wait, she? Do you know who holds his contract?" Sam asked.  
"Yes Sam, I ran into her once before. She holds every contract. You've already heard of her," Alice said.  
"We have?" Dean asked.  
"Yeah. Lilith. The demon who also, it seems, wants Sam dead," Alice said.  
"Do you know where she is?" Dean asked.  
"No, big shots like her are always moving around. There are rituals for tracking them down though. I'd have to look them up, because I don't remember everything that goes in them. But like I said, let's get the Colt first, then we can find Lilith," she said.  
"Any ideas on how to do that?" Dean asked.  
"A few. Do you two have anything of hers?" she asked.  
"No," Sam said.  
"Okay, that rules out any kind of tracking spell. Sam, hand me my laptop," she said. He fished it out of the bag at his feet, and handed it to her. She pulled out her phone, dialing a number and tucking it between her shoulder and her ear to speak as she typed.  
"Seebred? Guess who," she said. "I'm back, yeah. Can we get over it quickly please? I need your help. Yeah, tracking someone down. Can you get me into the NIN? Great, tell me how. Oh, that's good for you. So it should be easy. I doubt it See, can't you-" she waited while the other person was talking. "See please? For old times sake maybe? Okay, I'll owe you a favor if you do it. Absolutely anything you want, anytime you want. No, I need to be able to track them myself. Feel perfectly free to help though. A woman, Bela Talbot." She paused in her typing. "No, I don't think I should. We left of on something of a sour note," she said. "Thanks See. I owe you one." She hung up, turning the moniter around to face the boys, smiling. There was a window open. Sam raised his eyebrows at it, though as far as Dean could tell, it was just a bunch of rapidly scrolling numbers and letters.  
"Is that-"  
"Yep. This is the NSA's national informative network," Alice said, grinning smugly. "Or NIN." She turned the laptop back to her, and started typing.  
"All I hear is geek talk," Dean said.  
"How did you get in?" Sam asked, ignoring Dean.  
"A friend. He used to be able to hack into the network better than he could tie his shoes. And I'm not even joking, he actually couldn't tie his shoes. Apparently the NSA hired him to help improve the networks security," Alice said.  
"For someone as bad with people as you are, you've got a lot of people willing to help you," Dean said.  
"Oh come on. I'm not bad with people. I just like getting straight to the poing instead of dodging around it for hours," Alice said, her eyes not leaving the screen. She typed for a few more moments, before turning the screen around again. This time, it showed a picture of Talbot, along with a few options.  
"I can track her credit card transactions, cell phone calls, all security footage with her in it, run an international background check, and basically find out anything that you could ever want to know about her," Alice said.  
"They track all that?" Dean asked.  
"They track everything, about everyone," Alice said. "As far as I know, they aren't too meticulous about tracking everyone, every hour of every day, but if they want to find you, they will find you. In any case, it looks like the last sign of Talbot is security footage from a gas station just outside of New Remmingsburg, Nevada," Alice said.  
"Head in that direction?" Dean asked.  
"Yep," Alice said. She picked up her phone, resting her laptop on the seat next to her as she redialed Seebreds number.  
"See? It's me again. Can you track people by satellite? No? Alright, thanks anyway." she hung up. "He doesn't have that level of clearance, apparently," Alice said. She glanced at the laptop. "We're just going to have to keep watching the screen. My computers taken Sam, find out about shops selling Devils Shoestring from here to New Remmingsburg," Alice said.  
"Devils Shoestring? What's that?" Dean asked.  
"It keeps Hellhounds at bay," Alice said. They drove in silence after that. Sam found a shop that sold Devils Shoestring, though it was a bit out of the way. They took the detour, and bought it anyway. Alice had Dean stuff his pockets with it, and warned him that he should keep it with him at all times. They went on past New Remmingsburg, since it seemed that Talbot had checked into a hotel in Las Vegas.  
"Vegas, huh?" Dean asked, eyes lighting up when Alice gave him the news.  
"Don't get any ideas. We're leaving as soon as we get the Colt," Alice said.  
"If she even still has it. Maybe she's sold it already, and she's in Vegas with the money she got for it," Dean said.  
"Could be. But if that's the case, then we're going to track Lilith down, and figure something else out," Alice said.  
"We can't even have a little fun first?" Dean asked, whining slightly.  
"We can't afford to waste time that we don't have," Alice said.  
"The best time you can waste is time you don't have," Dean replied.  
"No," Alice said firmly. Dean didn't press after that. They stopped for gas a few hours later in, sending Sam in to pay for the gas. When he came back out, he was holding a paper.  
"I've got something," he said. The headline blared out that people had been showing up in the ER with organs missing.  
"Sam, that doesn't even look like our kind of case," Dean said.  
"And even if it did, we don't have time to stop for this right now," Alice said.  
"You two don't. Look, you guys go ahead, and I'll stay here and check this out," he said.  
"What? Sam, we need your help with this," Alice said.  
"No, you don't. Think about it. You and Dean can do this on your own. And I've got a feeling about this. I'm staying, and checking this out. If it's nothing, than I'll meet up with you in Vegas," Sam said.  
Alice shook her head. "No. When you're done with this, you might as well go on to Singers and start researching spells to find Lilith."  
"Okay," Sam said, surprised that she wasn't putting up more of a fight, but not protesting. "I'll see you there then."

* * *

Alice and Dean arrived in Las Vegas late the next day. They went straight to the hotel Talbot had checked into. Alice picked the lock, and Dean kept a look out.

"You take the bathroom, I'll check here," Alice said, closing the door and locking it behind them. Dean moved off, and she went over to the dresser, going through the drawers. They were all empty, and there was a duffel bag on the floor at the foot of the bed. She dumped it's contents out, shifting through them, before going through all of the pockets. She stopped, her head snapping up as the lock on the door turned. She rushed to stand beside the door frame, only just making it as the door opened and a woman stepped in. Alice recognized her as the woman who'd tried to sell her the Colt. She froze when she saw the state of the room, and Alice knocked into her to the side, closing the door quickly and pointing her gun at Talbot.  
"You. What are you doing here?" Talbot asked, recognizing Alice as well.  
"Where's the Colt?" Alice asked.  
"What Colt?" Talbot said.  
"Tell us where it is Bela," Dean said, emerging from the bathroom.  
"Dean," Talbot said, covering her surprise as she got to her feet.  
"No extra words," he said, his gun joining Alices in it's direction.  
"It's long gone, across the world by now," Talbot said.  
"You're lying," Alice said. She nodded at the bag Talbot was holding. "Give me that," she said. She yanked it away from her, rifling through it.  
"I'll call the buyer. Speak Latvian?" Talbot asked.  
"As a matter of fact, I do," Alice said. "Check her."  
Dean frisked her quickly, coming away with a gun, though it wasn't the one they were looking for.  
"Check the rest of the room," Alice told him, keeping her gun on Bela.  
"I told you I don't have it," Talbot said.  
"Oh, yeah, we're definitely gonna take your word for it," Alice said. She tossed her the phone out of her bag. "Call the buyer. And don't try anything."  
Bela licked her lips, and dialed a number, handing the phone to Alice, who turned it onto speaker.  
"Sveiki?" a voice came from the other end.  
"Labdien, ar kuru es esmu runā?" Alice asked. Bela winced minutely when Alice spoke, and Alice could tell she'd been hoping Alice had been bluffing when she'd said she spoke Latvian.  
"Melissa Krines. Kurš tas ir?" the woman on the other end asked.  
"Bela Talbot, es gribēju runāt ar jums par šo ieroci Es tikko pārdeva jums," Alice said.  
"Man žēl, bet es domāju, ka jums ir nepareizs numurs," the woman said.  
"Ah. Žēl apgrūtināt jums tad. Ir laba diena," Alice said, hanging up. "Where is it?" she asked Bela.  
"Long gone by now. And you aren't going to get it, so I wouldn't even waste my time trying if I were you," Talbot said. "Are you going to kill me?" she asked at the furious look on Alices face.  
"Oh, yeah," Alice said.  
"And Dean, you're really going to let her? I know you, and you're not the cold-blooded type," Talbot said.  
"You mean like you? That's true. See, I couldn't imagine killing my parents," Dean said.  
Talbot looked shocked for a moment, but regathered herself quickly. "I don't know what you're talking-"  
"Yes, you do," Alice interrupted her. "You were, what, 14? Your parents died in a car accident. The police suspected a slashed brake line, but it was all too crispy to tell," Alice said.  
"Cut to little Bela...Oh, I'm sorry, Abby...inheriting millions," Dean put in.  
"How did you even-"  
"Background check. Ran your picture through an international database. I've got resources," Alice said.  
"Alright then. They were lovely people. And I killed them. And I got rich. I can't be bothered to give a damn. Just like I don't care what happens to you," Talbot told Dean, still calmly.  
Alice pushed her roughly against the closed door, her arm across her throat again, cutting off her air supply. A strand of woven herbs was dislodged from the ledge above the door, catching Deans eyes. He tried to pull Alice back, but she didn't budge.  
"Alice, come on," he said, though she still didn't move. "If you kill her we're going to have to do something with the body, or at least get clean the hell out of this place to get our prints off it. We don't have time for that," he said.  
Alice thought a moment, before releasing Bela, who crumpled to the ground, gasping for breath. Alice forced the door open, pushing Bela with it since she was still in front of it, and walked out, Dean following behind her.  
"So now you suddenly care about how much time you have left?" Alice asked.  
"No. How many uses are there for Devils Shoestring?" he asked.  
"Only the one, keepin away the Hellhounds. Why?" Alice asked.  
"Bela had some above the door. How long ago did her parents die?" Dean asked.  
"Ten years," Alice said, realizing what he was saying. "You think she made a deal and her time's up." They reached the car, and she thought for a moment. "So it may be reasonable to assume that rather than sell the Colt, she traded it to the Demons," Alice said.  
"In return for her soul back? If that's true, why bother with the herbs?" Dean asked.  
"Would it be the first time you'd heard of Demons welching on a deal?" Alice asked.  
"No," Dean admitted as he started the car. "To Bobbys?"  
"To Bobbys," Alice said.  
"Can we stop for a drink first?" he asked.  
"No."

* * *

They were halfway to Bobbys when they got a call from Sam.

"Sam?" Dean answered it through a mouthful of hamburger. They'd stopped for food, and Alice was taking a shift driving.  
"Yeah. Where are you guys?" Sam asked.  
"Heading back to Bobbys now," Dean said.  
"Did you get the Colt?" Sam asked.  
"No," Dean said.  
"Oh. I'm sorry. Anyway, I found something," Sam said.  
"The ritual to find Lilith?" Dean asked.  
"No. But it is something that could help you," Sam said.  
"What?" Dean asked, putting the phone on speaker so Alice could hear.  
"So, the organ thefts I stayed to investigate? The organs were surgically removed," Sam said.  
"Alright, that sounds more like the black market than a case you should be working," Alice said.  
"Yeah, at first glance. But I talked to one of the doctors who examined the patients, both living and dead, and get this: the incisions on the living patients were all sewn up with silk," Sam said.  
"That's weird," Dean said.  
"Nowadays it is," Alice said, grinning. "I was around when it was the suture of choice though, back in the late 1800s, to early 1900s."  
"Yeah. It was really problematic. Patients would get massive infections. The death rate was insane," Sam said.  
"Good times," Alice said.  
"Right, so doctors, they had to do whatever they could to keep infections from spreading. One way was maggots," Sam said.  
"Dude, I'm eating," Dean complained.  
Sam went on, ignoring him. "It actually kind of worked because maggots, they eat bad tissue, and they leave good tissue. And get this. When they found the dead vic, his body cavity was stuffed full of maggots," Sam said.  
"Dude, I'm eating!" Dean said again.  
"What's wrong with maggots? They're edible," Alice said. Dean shuddered, and wrapped his hamburger up, putting it aside for later.  
"Alright, let me get this straight. So, people are getting ganked, right?" he asked.  
"Yeah," Sam said.  
"A little "antiques roadshow" surgery, some organ theft. Why is this all sounding familiar?" Dean asked.  
"Because you heard it before, when you were a kid, from Dad. Doc Benton...real-life doctor, lived in New Hampshire, brilliant and obsessed with alchemy, especially how to live forever. So, in 1816, Doc abandons his practice and-"  
"Right, yeah, nobody hears from him for like 20 years, and all of sudden, people start showing up dead," Dean said, remembering.  
"Dead or missing an organ or the hand or some other kind of part," Sam said.  
"Cause whatever he was doing was actually working. He just kept on ticking. Parts would wear out, he'd replace them. But I thought Dad hunted him down and took his heart out," Dean said.  
"Yeah, I guess the Doc must have plugged in a new one," Sam said.  
"You think it's him doing it?" Alice asked.  
"I'm pretty sure," Sam said.  
"Based on the type of suture used? And the disinfectant method?" Alice asked. Dean, figuring it was safe, took his hamburger back out and took a bite.  
"Yeah," Sam said.  
"That's not a lot to go on," Alice said.  
"But it's something. Also, according to Dad's journal, Benton's picky about where he sets up his lab. He likes dense forest with access to a river or stream or some kind of freshwater," Sam said.  
"Why?" Dean asked through a bite of hamburger.  
"Because that's where he likes to dump the bile and intestines and fecal matter," Sam said.  
Dean looked disgusted, and lowered his burger, gagging slightly.  
"Lost your appetite yet?" Alice asked in amusement.  
Dean considered, looking at the burger. "Oh baby, I can't stay mad at you," he told it, taking another large bite.  
"Should I be jealous?" Alice asked playfully. Dean shook his head quickly though. He figured she was already mad enough at him for keeping his deal from her, and anything more would put him in the doghouse. Or maybe the trunk, since they didn't have a house, much less a dog or a house for said dog.  
"Anyway, there's a lot of thick woodland around here, and a river, with a lot of abandoned hunting cabins scattered here and there," Sam said.  
"So why'd you call us instead of going after him yourself, or ditching this and heading to Bobbys?" Alice asked.  
"Because I think this is gonna help us save Dean," Sam said.  
"What? Chasing some Frankenstein?" Dean asked.  
"Chasing immortality," Sam said.  
"What?" Alice asked.  
"Look, Benton can't die. We find out how he did it, we can do it to Dean," Sam said.  
"What are you talking about?" Dean demanded.  
"You have to die before you go to hell, right? So, if you can never die, then-"  
"Wait, wait, wait. Wait a second. Did you know that this was Doc Benton from the jump when you made us drop you off?" Dean asked.  
"No," Sam said.  
"Sam," Alice said.  
"Maybe. I mean, I was hoping. Look, all I'm tyring to do is help save Dean," he said.  
"No. What you're trying to do is chase Slicy McHackey here. And to kill him? No. You wanna buy him a freaking beer. You wanna study him," Dean said.  
"I was just trying to help," Sam said.  
"You're not helping! You forget that if I welch on this deal, you die. Guess what, living forever is welching," Dean said.  
"Fine! Then, whatever the magic pill is, I'll take it too!" Sam said.  
"Woah, aren't we maybe getting ahead of ourselves?" Alice asked, pulling the car over and leaning over the phone. "We know who the demon is, we've got a way to kill it, now all we have to do is find it."  
"You don't have the Colt," Sam pointed out.  
"But we have my knife. It'll do," Alice said.  
"Will it? Think about it Alice, we basically have one shot with the knife, and you said it yourself, a demon as powerful as Lilith would kill you before you got close enough to try. Just think about it for a moment. We need the Colt, and if we can make this work, then we've got all the time we need to track it down, instead of just two weeks-"  
"Two and a half," Dean interrupted.  
"Whatever. The point is, what we need most is time, which is one of the many things we just don't have, and this will at least get us that," Sam said.  
"He's got a point," Alice said.  
"You're siding with him?" Dean demanded.  
"Yes, because what he's saying makes sense," Alice said.  
"We don't even know how it's done, for all we know it could be black magic and sacrificial offerings. Thanks, but no thanks, I'll take my chances sticking Lilith with that knife," Dean said.  
"Well I won't," Alice said. "And you," she poked him sharply in the chest. "You lost the privilege to make decisions when you made the very, very _stupid_ decision to not tell me about all this in the first place. Sam, tell me where you are again?" Alice asked, pulling back onto the highway and turning the car around.  
"Brenlen," he said. "I'm staying at the Brenlen Best Quality Inn."  
"See you sometime tomorrow," Alice said, taking the phone from Dean and hanging up.  
"Alice, I'm not doing this," he said.  
"We'll see when we get there, and find out everything that comes along with it," Alice said.  
"Alice-"  
"No one is deciding anything yet," she said. "But you owe it to me, and Sam too to at least find out more about it," she said.  
"My clock is ticking, we should just go for Lilith and be done with it," he said.  
"I thought you didn't care about your time running out," Alice said.  
"I don't. But I don't want to end up stuck as some kind of unkillable zombie for the rest of eternity," he said. "I don't really see the point in trying to keep me out of hell if the way we do it makes me miserable forever."  
"Because however miserable you might be, I can just about guarantee you that you'll be happier than if you'd gone to hell," Alice said. "But like I said, we're not doing anything until we find out exactly what it is. We might not even be able to get Benton to tell us how to do anything."  
Slightly encouraged by that thought, but still much less than happy with the situation, Dean crossed his arms over his chest, and stared out the window at the passing landscape, hoping for the first time in his life that the thing they were hunting got away.


	21. Chapter 21

Alice and Dean got to the motel where Sam was staying the next night. They knocked on the door, and Sam didn't answer.  
"He must be out somewhere," Alice said.  
"Gee, you think?" Dean asked sarcastically as they walked back to the car to wait for him to get back. They sat in silence, as they'd done for most of the time they'd been together since Alice had found out that Dean had sold his soul. She had nothing to say to him, and though he had much that he would have liked to tell her, he doubted that she would listen. They'd been sitting for about a half an hour when Deans phone rang. He picked it up.  
"Sammy?" he asked.  
"Yeah. Is Alice with you?" he asked.  
"Yep. Where are you?" Dean asked, putting the phone on speaker as Alice leaned over to hear better.  
"Outside Harkers Memorial Hospital," Sam said.  
"Are you okay?" Alice asked.  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Better, actually. I found out where Doc Benton was hiding out, went there-"  
"You went alone?" Dean asked sharply.  
"Don't worry. Anyway, I rescued another would-be victim, and on the way out, I grabbed the Docs notebook," Sam said.  
"The one with the demonic-magic live-forever potion ingredients in it?" Dean asked.  
"No, that's the thing. It's not black magic. There's no blood sacrifice or anything. It's just science. Very, very extremely weird science, but science," Sam said.  
"What? So... that's... good," Dean said hesitantly.  
"What's in it exactly?" Alice asked, curious.  
"Well, not as many things as you would think. I mean, there's a lot about chemical reactions, and it stresses in several places the importance of exactness in the amounts of things used, but I can't understand most of this," Sam said.  
"Okay. We're waiting at the motel, you want to meet us back here and we can decide where to go from there?" Alice asked.  
"Sure, I should be there-"  
Sam cut off, and there was a thump, and the sound of a scuffle from the other end of the phone.  
"Sam?" Alice asked.  
"Sammy? You there? Sam!" Dean asked.  
There was a moment of silence, before a hoarse, wheezing voice came from the other end.  
"Your friend can't come to the phone at the moment," it said.  
"Who is this?" Alice asked, holding up a finger to stop Dean from speaking.  
The person on the other end hung up, and Dean stared at his phone for a second, before he and Alice silmutaneously leapt out of the car, Dean leaving his door open as he headed for Sam's room. He already had his lock pick out when he reached it, but stopped short, cursing, when he saw that it was a key card lock. "We can't pick the lock," he said, turning to Alice.  
She looked from the door, to Dean, her pursing her lips as her eyes landed on the window.  
"Okay then. Let's see if I still got it," she said, taking a few steps back. Before Dean had the chance to ask her what she was doing, she charged at the window, leaping off the ground before she hit, and rolling into a ball in midair, her face tucked down and her knees drawn up to her chest. Dean turned away quickly as she sailed through the window, uncurling to try and land properly, but skidding once she was on her feet, and knocking into the table. An alarm went off when she hit the glass, and Dean peeked in through the window as Alice straightened, examinng one of her fingers, which was, miraculously Dean thought, the only part of her that had been cut.  
"Do you have a secret second life as an olympian that I don't know about?" Dean asked.  
"No. But my grandma was a gymnast when she was younger, and she was in pretty good shape for an older person," Alice said, grabbing a map and Sam's laptop off the computer, which was all that was in the room. She climbed back out the window, heading for the passenger side of the car. "She taught me and my sister a few things, but I haven't done anything like that in a while."  
Dean got in, and started driving, while Alice looked at the map. She pointed a spot that Sam had highlighted in red, a hunting cabin a ways off the road.  
"That's where we're headed," she said.  
"How do you know?" Dean asked.  
"It's on the map," Alice said in exasperation.  
"No, I mean- never mind," Dean said.  
"No, what do you mean?" Alice asked.  
"It's a stupid question anyway," Dean said.  
Something about that statement bothered Alice, though she couldn't place exactly what. She let it go, instead holding the map so he could see it, and suggesting quietly that he hurry.

Sam snapped back into consciousness quickly, his eyes already open, which he thought was a bit odd, to say the least. He tried to get up from where he was laying, only to be stopped by what felt like straps around his arms and legs. He tried to lift his head to see them, but he couldn't, realizing there was a strap. His eyes began to burn, but when he tried to close them, he found that he couldn't do that either. He tried to calm down and think, but the inability to do something as simple as blink was unnerving, and he his breath coming more quickly, in sharp, ragged gasps that left almost opaque clouds hovering in the frigid air around his face.  
"You can relax," a voice said from his right. It was an unpleasant, hoarse voice, and it sounded like the speaker might have been in pain, forcing the words out. "It's all gonna be okay. Ain't nothing gonna happen here that you got to worry about, Sammy. Your chances of coming out of this procedure alive? Very, very high," the voice continued. Doc Benton, Sam thought. He didn't know who else it could be.  
"How do you know my name?" Sam asked, never having met the man(Or whatever he was) in person.  
"Oh...I know. You think I'm some kind of monster, don't you?" Doc Benton asked. He walked closer, leaning over Sam so he could see him. Doc Benton was covered in wrinkles, and criss-crossed with stitches everywhere. Some patches of his skin were lighter or darker than others, both of his eyes were covered in a milky white film, and he had bald patches atop his somewhat misshapen head. He stunk like rotting flesh, and Sam cringed away from him as much as he could, which was not nearly as much as he would have liked.  
"Well, I got to tell you, I have never done one thing that I did not have to do," Doc Benton continued, once again moving out of Sams line of sight, which was something of a relief since Sam couldn't smell him as strongly, though Sam was mostly discomfitted with not being able to see such a man as this.  
"This whole eternal-life thing is very high-maintenance. If something goes bad, like my eyes here...you got to replace them," Doc Benton said, coming back to lean over Sam, and showing him a scoop that Sam vaguely thought resembled a miniature ice cream scoop. He realized in horror that he was the one Doc Benton was planning to use it on.  
"And sometimes things get damaged, like when your father cut out my heart. Now, that...That was very inconvenient. So, I'm sure that you can understand all the joy I felt when I read all about myself here in his journal. Kind of makes this whole thing just feel like some kind of family reunion, don't it? Well, I guess it's about time that we get this thing started," Doc Benton said. He brought the scoop close to Sams eye, Sam grunting and trying to get out of the straps as well as he possibly could.  
Three shots rang out suddenly, and Doc Benton turned away from Sam. Sam struggled to turn his head enough to see who had fired the shots, but he couldn't. He groaned in frustration, wiggling in the straps.  
"Shoot all you want," Doc Benton said. There were two more gunshots, and then a thump that sounded like someone being thrown against a wall, accompanied by a groan from whoever had been shooting. Sam finally got the headstrap loose enough to turn his head to the side just enough to see Doc Benton bending over Dean, on the floor still clutching his gun. Alice came up behind him, plunging a knife through his back, and Sams knowledge of anatomy told him that it would have connected with his heart.  
Doc Benton laughed, reaching around the try and pull the blade from his back as he turned to face Alice. "A knife? What part of immortality do you not understand? Pity about the heart, though. It was a brand-new one," Doc Benton said.  
"Good. It should be pumping nice and strong, sending this stuff throughout your whole body," Alice said, holding up a bottle of chloroform. "Ah, you use the the good stuff too. Acts almost immediately, and it doesn't matter whether you apply it externally, or internally."  
Doc Benton collapsed, and Dean groaned, sitting up. "We had some good times a long time ago with this stuff, remember?" Alice asked.  
"Not really," Dean said, getting to his feet.  
"Well, in any case, it's not going to last forever," Alice said. "We need to find some rope, or-"  
"Hey, guys, maybe you could let me out first," Sam said from the table he was strapped to. Alice looked at him, and pointed to the table.  
"Or, we could get Sam off the table, and put the Doc there while we figure out what to do with him," she said.  
"Works for me," Dean said, going over and getting Sam off the table while Alice retrieved her knife, and gripped Doc Benton under his ankles, dragging him over to the table. Dean and Sam lifted him up onto it, and strapped him down tightly. He was already starting to stir, and they hurried, not bothering with the head strap, before stepping back.  
"Oh, hiya, Doc. Wakey, wakey, eggs and bac-y," Dean said.  
"Please," Doc Benton said, looking up at them entreatingly.  
"Please what? You've been killing poor bastards for over 150 years and now you got a request? Shut up," Dean said.  
"No, you don't understand. I can help you. I know what you need," Doc Benton said.  
"We might have to cut him up into little bits. You know, this immortality thing is a bitch," Dean said to Sam. Alice was silent, standing back a ways, looking at Doc Benton broodingly.  
"I can read the formula for you. You know...immortality...Forever young, never die," Doc Benton said.  
"Dean," Sam said.  
"Do you have an idea Sam?" Dean asked. Sam walked out of the room, indicating for Dean and Alice to follow.  
"What?" Dean asked.  
"I mean, we're talking hell in two weeks. Or needing a new pancreas in like half a century," Sam said.  
"Yeah, well, you can't exactly get those at a Kwik-E-Mart," Dean said disdainfully.  
"It's not perfect, but it buys us more time to think of something better. We just need time, Dean. I mean, please, just...just think about it. Alice, you agree, right?" Sam said. Alice remained silent, a brooding air still about her as she looked back through the doorway to the table with Doc Benton strapped to it.  
"Alice?" Sam asked.  
She turned back to hin finally. "It's Deans choice. I'm not going to push him to do this," she said. Both Sam and Dean looked surprised at that, but Sam recovered quickly, opening his mouth to argue, but Dean cut him off.  
"No," he said.  
"Dean, don't you want to live?" Sam asked.  
"What he is isn't living. Look, this is simple," Dean said.  
"Simple?" Sam demanded.  
"To me it is, okay. Black or white; human, not human." Dean walked back to stand in front of Doc Benton. "See, what the Doc is is a freakin' monster. I can't do it. I would rather go to hell," Dean said, walking back into the operating table room, and grabbing a rag off one of the other tables, dumping more cloroform on it.  
"You don't understand. I can help you!" Doc Benton yelled as Dean walked over to him, placing the rag over his nose and mouth. Doc Benton relaxed immediately, falling limp against th table. Dean went to take the rag away, but Alice stopped him.  
"When you're applying that stuff externally, they have to keep breathing it in, or the effects wear off fairly quickly," Alice said. Dean left the rag sitting on Doc Bentons face, and turned back to Alice and Sam.  
"So, what are we going to do with him?" he asked.  
"I've got an idea," Alice said.

They ended up securing the cloroform soaked rag to Doc Bentons face to keep him under, and putting him in the back of the Impala, driving to a deserted field a ways off the highway. They gathered sticks, throwing them over Doc Benton, resting on the ground, still unconscious, and soaking him and the sticks with gasoline. Dean lit a match, throwing it onto the makeshift pyre, and turning to look at Sam. He stepped forward, throwing Doc Bentons journal into the flames as well, and watching as it burned, taking the secret to immortality with it. He turned, walking back to the car, but Alice and Dean stayed a moment longer.  
"What you said back there, about everything being black and white to you. Human or not human. Which am I?" Alice asked.  
"You? You're a special case. You hunt the monsters, help people," Dean said.  
"Yeah," she said, not sure whether it was agreement, or just acknowledgement. "Look, Dean, I'm sorry," she said after a moment. "I shouldn't have been so... I was doing what I thought was right, not giving you a choice whether we went through with breaking this deal or not. But I'm not sure if that's what is right anymore."  
"Alice, it's fine. You were doing the best you could," Dean said. "And you know, I'm starting to think you're right. I really... I don't want to die Alice. And I don't want to go to hell," he said.  
Alice smiled, taking his hand and lacing her fingers through his. "You won't. We'll kill that demon, break your deal. Hunters don't let other hunters go to hell, right?" she asked.  
Dean laughed shortly at the repeat of his words from so long ago. "Right," he said.  
They waited until the fire died down, and the wind began blowing the ashes away, before they turned, heading back to the Impala.


	22. Chapter 22

They headed to Bobbys, and Alice gave them all a description of the ritual, before they all headed off to different rooms, Bobby, Alice and Dean sorting through books, and Sam trying extensive internet searches. Alice and Bobby all contacted a few people, but no one they knew had the ritual. As the days slipped by, Dean began having nightmares when he slept. Alice noticed, and had Sam come off his reasearch to go get more Devils Shoestring, but it didn't help, and eventually it was two days until Deans time ran out, and tension was high. Dean was hallucinating now too, and sometimes he would look at Alice and see a warped, flickering, dark creature. He heard growls from behind locked doors, and whispers when it was quiet, telling him what was coming for him. He'd been trying not to fall asleep, because of the nightmares, but had passed out over a book he was looking in. Alice sat next to him as she searchd the book she had, knowing that he hated what he saw when he closed his eyes, but also that he needed rest. He'd only been asleep for a few moments, when he started shaking, hands clenching into fists as he gasped for breath. Alice reached over and shook him, and he jerked upright immediately, breathing hard, eyes wide. He saw where he was, and ran a hand through his hair, catching his breath.  
"You let me fall asleep," he accused Alice.  
Alice shrugged, closing her book, finished with it. "You need rest. I thought five minutes was better than nothing," she said.  
"I guess," he said. "I guess you didn't find anything again?" he asked.  
"Nothing," she said. "I think that I can probably-" she cut off as the doorbell rang, something that hadn't happened in the two weeks they'd been camping out here. She and Dean shared a look, before getting up and running quietly down the stairs. Sam and Bobby were also heading in the same direction. Alice pulled her knife out, and both Sam and Dean their handguns. Bobby grabbed a pre-loaded rifle off a shelf, moving over to the door. He looked back at Alice and the boys, and she nodded. "Who's there?" Bobby asked.  
"Bobby, it's me," a mans voice came from outside. Bobby looked surprised, and Alice tensed, recognizing the voice.  
"Shit," she said quietly, drawing glances from Sam and Dean.  
"Rufus?" he asked incredulously, cracking the door open.  
"Yeah. Can you let me in? Colder than a Witches tit out here," Rufus said. Bobby opened the door, and Rufus stepped him, rubbing his hands together.  
"What are you doing here?" Bobby asked.  
"Weird case, thought I'd stop by and get some research in so I can figure out how to kill the thing I'm hunting," he explained.  
"Hunting? I thought you quit," Bobby said.  
"Yeah, me too. But this one literally came up and knocked on my front door, so it was just too hard not to hunt the damn thing," he said. He noticed Sam, Dean and Alice for the first time.  
"Who are these?" he asked.  
"Sam and Dean Winchester, and-"  
"Rita," Alice interjected. She cleared her throat when Bobby, Sam and Dean all looked at her oddly. "Rita Spare," she said forcefully, shooting Bobby a significant look.  
"Well, nice meeting you all. But look, I don't mean to be rude, but I gotta be quick about this, so I'll just start sorting through your junk," Rufus said, heading up the stairs. They watched him go, before Bobby turned to Alice.  
"What was that about?" he asked, hands on his hips.  
"Rufus Turner?" Alice shook her head, eyes on the stairs where she'd last seen him. "We've got history. It wasn't pretty then, I'm sure it won't be any better now." She pointed to a room on the bottom floor, heading toward it. "I'll go through the books in there for now. I'm not going back up there until he's gone." She walked away at that, and Dean immediately went back up the stairs, Sam and Bobby soon following.

A few hours later, Rufus was still searching through books, and had noticed that the three other men were doing the same, at quite a vigorous pace.  
"You guys lose something?" Rufus asked.  
"Not exactly," Sam said.  
"We're looking for a ritual," Bobby said, not looking up from the book he was searching.  
"Maybe I can help," Rufus said.  
"I thought you didn't do rituals," Bobby said.  
"I don't perform them personally. I know a lot of them though" he said.  
"This one's pretty obscure, if it exists," Bobby said. "I doubt you know of it."  
"Okey dokey," Rufus said, going back to his book.  
Rufus found what he was looking for an hour later, and said his good byes to Bobby and Sam, heading downstairs. He stopped when he heard voices from a room off the entrance hall on his way out.  
"Yeah, I get that, but I'd sure as hell like it if you told me why," he heard Deans voice.  
"I don't want to talk about it. It's personal," came Ritas voice.  
"That's fine. But Alice, if there's something I should know about him, like maybe him being one of your more dangerous friends, or enemies, I'd like it if you told me," Dean said. Rufus frowned, wondering who he was talking to.  
"No, he's not anything like that. I just... I know him. From 1990," Alice said. Rufus straightened. 1990. Alice. Alice Smith? Couldn't be, she was dead, he'd seen her go. Then again, people coming back from the dead was a large part of his life. He pulled his gun out, moving into the room quickly, and training it on Alice as soon as he spotted her, standing facing a bookshelf, her back to him. Dean spotted him, and froze, but Rufus spoke before Dean could do anything.

"Alice Smith," he said. She stopped when she heard her name, closing her eyes, for a moment, cursing loud mouth men, before turning slowly.  
"Rufus," she said. "You've aged."  
"Happens to all of us at some point. 'Cept for you, apparently," he said.  
"Exceptional circumstances," Alice said.  
"Must have been. You died. I saw you. Hell, I burned your body," Rufus said.  
"Yeah, I noticed that. Thanks a lot," she said sarcastically.  
"No problem. So you mind telling me why you decided to come back and make me go through the trouble of taking care of you again?" he asked.  
"Whoa now, nobody needs to take care of anyone," Dean said.  
Rufus didn't spare him a glance. "Kid, you're in over your head. Trust me, the world's better off without her," he said.  
"Look, how about we just put the gun away, and talk this over? Maybe catch up a bit? Alice isn't dangerous," Dean said.  
"Don't insult me," she said in annoyance.  
"Okay, fine, she is," Dean said.  
"Look, I get it. She can be charming sometimes," Rufus said. "She can make you think she's your friend real easy. But trust me, she'll turn around and stab you in the back without a second thought. So I don't expect you to be understanding about this, but I gotta do it," Rufus said.  
"You don't gotta do nothing Rufus," Bobby's voice came from behind. He glanced behind him quickly to see Bobby standing with a shotgun trained on him, Sam running down the hall quickly. "Put it down Rufus."  
He looked from Bobby, back to Alice, who raised her eyebrows. "If you don't shoot me now, you can always do it later," she said.  
"If you don't shoot me first," Rufus said.  
"I'd be more inclined to stab you," she replied.  
"True," he said. He lowered his gun, but shook his head when Sam held out his hand to take it. "Uh-uh. I'm holdin' onto this," he said.  
Sam looked at Bobby, who nodded, lowering his own weapon, and nodding toward the dining room. "If you two have business to sort out, do it fast, 'cause we got a ritual to find," he said.  
"Not much to explain. He wants to kill me. I wouldn't mind killing him, though I want to less than he thinks," Alice said.  
Rufus scoffed. "Sure. Whatever you say Smith."  
Alices jaw tightened, and Dean got the feeling that Rufus knew full well that she didn't like her last name, and probably used it just to get under her skin.  
"Well no one's killing anyone today, so why don't you go finish your hunt, and leave us to ours," Dean said. There was a tense moment, before Rufus nodded slowly.  
"I'll catch up with you later Smith," he said.  
"Sounds like a date," Alice said.  
He shook his head, turning to walk away, but stopping. "Out of curiousity, what ritual are you looking for?" he asked.  
"The old Graecian one, that can find anyone or anything," Alice said.  
"You're kidding right? I thought you had that memorized?" Rufus asked.  
"I died. Forgive me if I forgot a few things," Alice said.  
"Like?" Rufus asked.  
"The ingredients," she said.  
"I have 'em," he said.  
"You do not," Alice said.  
"You're right, not the ingredients themselves, but I've still got that list you had on you when you died. I figured it might come in handy some day," Rufus said.  
Alice stared at him, and no one said anything for a moment. "Well can we have it?" Sam asked finally.  
"Depends," Rufus said. "Who are you trying to find?" he asked.  
"What. It's a demon," Bobby said.  
"Must be a big one, if you're looking this hard for the ritual," Rufus said.  
"It's Lilith," Alice said.  
"The Lilith? Lilith the first?" Rufus asked. Alice nodded. "Are you people suicidal?" Rufus demanded.  
"Trust me, we don't have any choice," Bobby said.  
"Well I sure as hell don't want any part of this," Rufus said. "I just wanted to finish this one last hunt, and then I'm stopping for good. I don't need any Demon queens on my ass when I do," he said.  
"Can you give us the list before you go?" Sam asked.  
"No, I don't even want that involvement in this. You three are all cracked, and you're going to die painful deaths, and then go to hell," Rufus said. "No thank you!" He started to head out, but Bobby stopped him.  
"Rufus please. For old times sake. We need this badly," he said.  
Rufus faltered, pausing a moment, before glaring at Bobby. "You just had to pull that card out, didn't you?" he asked. "Fine. But it's back at my place, so I'll have to put this hunt off even more than I already have," he said.  
"Where is your place?" Alice asked.  
"Sure, I'm gonna tell you," Rufus said. "I don't think so. I'll bring it back here."  
"How long will that take?" Dean asked.  
"I dunno, a day here and back if I hurry?" Rufus said. Dean looked at Alice.  
"That's cutting it close," he said.  
"But it's probably our best shot," she said. "Fine. Just try to hurry," she told Rufus. Rufus looked from her to Bobby, shook his head, and then walked out into the hall. They heard the door slam behind him, and no one spoke for a moment.  
"Sam, how much devils shoestring do we have on hand?" Alice asked quietly.  
"Lots," he replied.  
"Great. This place is warded against demons right?" she asked Bobby. He nodded. "Okay, once we find out where she is, Sam, Bobby and me'll go after her. Maybe I can get Riley in too. Dean, you're going stay here and try to hold anything that comes at you at bay until we can kill Lilith," she said.  
"Whoa, I'm not sitting around here while you guys go out hunting something like Lilith," Dean said.  
"Dean, if you come, it's only increasing the chances of you getting yourself killed," Alice argued.  
"It's not happening," Dean said firmly.  
"She's right Dean, you need to stay here," Sam said.  
"No," Dean said stubbornly.  
"Your deal will probably have already expired by the time we get to gank this demon. Your best shot is to stay put here, and try not to get ripped to shreds," Alice said.  
"No, you said we'd do this together, and I'm gonna hold you to that," Dean said.  
"We are doing it together. But your part in all of this is just staying alive long enough for us to do ours. Dean, please just trust us. Trust me," she plead.  
"You know she's right," Bobby said. Dean looked around at all of them, wanting to argue, but seeing that it wasn't going to do much good. They'd made their minds up, and he suspected that if they didn't agree to let him go with them, they'd tie him up and leave someone to guard him. He nodded hesitantly.

Rufus came back the next day, surprising Alice, who had kept going through Bobbys books, not expecting to see him again. He handed the list to Bobby, who looked it over quickly, and then nodded. "I've got everything on here," he said.  
"Why are you going after Lilith in the first place?" Rufus asked.  
"I thought you didn't want any involvement," Alice said.  
"I don't," Rufus replied.  
"Well then, it's not really any of your business," Alice said. Rufus looked around at them all, then turned and left without saying another word. Bobby showed the others the list, and they all went around gathering the ingredients on it. They met back in the kitchen. Bobby had laid a map out on the table, and placed an odd looked device over it. The device had three wooden "legs" coming out from a glass or crystal ball at the top. The ball had a flat metal piece going around it with symbols on it. Further down the legs there was another metal piece, only bigger. A pendulum device hung from the ball, it's end sharpened to a fine point. "So all we need is the name?" Bobby asked.  
"Yep," Alice said, writing it down on a small peice of papyrus.  
"This'll give us the town Lilith's in?" Sam asked.  
"When the rite is over, we'll know the street," Alice said. She began the ritual, starting the swing for the pendulum while chanting in Latin. Dean, Sam and Bobby all watched tensely as the pendulum swung, until Alice stopped chanting, and the pendulum settled over the map.  
"New Harmony, Indiana," Bobby read aloud.  
"Alright. Let's go," Alice said.  
"So soon?" a voice came from behind them. They all turned, to see Ruby standing in the kitchen doorway. She sauntered into the room to stand a few feet away from them, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm assuming you already have some kind of plan in place."  
"How the hell did you get in here?" Bobby demanded. Alice noticed Dean flinching slightly as he looked at her, and bit her lip. She had to force down her own panic as Ruby's face flickered from being her sisters, to the true face of the demon beneath.  
"You warding symbols aren't as airtight as you would probably like to think," Ruby said. "So what's the plan? You bozos probably don't even have one," Ruby asked.  
"Actually, we do. But the only thing about demonic hookers in it is killing them," Alice said.  
"Hasn't anyone broken the news to you yet? Racism is out of style sweetie," Ruby shot back.  
"We could use her help Alice," Sam said.  
"What?" Dean Alice and Bobby all asked at the same time.  
"She could help us. Get us inside, since she is a demon," Sam said.  
"No. No way. I'm taking my chances with the original plan," Alice said.  
"The original plan is get there, and then make a plan. Not the best one I've ever heard," Sam said.  
"Sam's right, your plan stinks," Ruby said.  
"Well it's better than putting trust in lying skanks who would sell us out as soon as help us," Dean said.  
"If I wanted to do that, I could have done it a long time ago. I saved your life when you two were stupid enough to get caught up with those witches, remember?" Ruby asked. "I would think you'd still be grateful for that. Not to mention saving Sam's sorry ass from those devils, and giving you a heads you a heads up about Lilith wanting his head," she said.  
"And what, you did all of that just out of the goodness of your stone cold demonic heart?" Alice asked.  
"I've got my reasons," Ruby said.  
"And how many of them are actually going to benefit anyone except for you?" Alice asked.  
"All of them," she shot back. "Look, whatever you do when you get there, you don't have a way to kill Lilith anyways."  
"Sure we do," Dean said.  
"What, my knife?" Ruby asked.  
"It's my knife," Alice said.  
"Whatever, you know just as well as I do that you're never gonna get close enough to Lilith to use it," Ruby said.  
"Well we're sure as hell going to try," Bobby said.  
"Look, I came here to help you mooks, and that's what I'm gonna do. 'Sides, I actually do have information you can use," Ruby said, pulling a chair up and plopping down in it, propping her feet up on the table.  
"Like what?" Sam asked.  
"Like, Lilith's on shore-leave at the moment. A little R&R," Ruby said.  
"The hell's that mean?" Bobby asked.  
"Trust me, you don't wanna know. You didn't lose those hex bags I gave you, did you?" she asked Sam and Dean.  
"We've got them," Sam said.  
"Good. Then she won't sense that we're coming," Ruby said.  
"There is no 'we' here Ruby. You are not coming, nor are you going to be involved with any aspect of our planning," Alice said.  
"I can save Dean," she said, putting her feet down and leaning forward, glaring at her host bodys sister.  
"You told me you couldn't," Dean said.  
"Well, I can't personally. But Sam, he can," she said.  
"What?" Sam asked.  
"Sam, you've got some God-given talent. Well, not "God"-given but you get the gist," Ruby said.  
"All that psychic crap? That's gone ever since Yellow-Eyes died," Sam said.  
Ruby shook her head. "Not gone, dormant. And not just visions either. Why do you think Lilith is so scared of you?" Ruby asked.  
"Right... she's scared of him," Alice scoffed.  
"If he wanted, he could wipe her off the map without moving a muscle," Ruby said.  
"Sounds like a proper crock of demon shit to me," Alice said.  
"It's the truth," Ruby said.  
"And you decided to tell him about this just now?" Dean asked.  
"Um... demon. Manipulative's kinda in the job description. Fact is, is that Sam would have never considered it, and Dean wouldn't have let him do it anyway. Not until you were-"  
"Desperate enough?" Sam asked. Ruby looked at him a moment, before shrugging, and standing again. "You don't like being different. You hate the way Dean looks at you sometimes." Dean shot him a glance when she said that, but Sam didn't notice. "Like you're some kind of sideshow freak. But suck it up because we've got a lot of ground to cover, and we've gotta do it fast. But we can do it," Ruby said.  
No one said anything, but the looks directed at Ruby spoke perfectly well for them. She sighed.  
"Look. Call me a bitch, hate me all you want, but I have never lied to you, Sam. Not ever. And I'm telling you. You... can save your brother, and I can show you how," Ruby said.  
"No," Dean said with a tone of finality. She looked at him, and opened her mouth to argue, but he spoke first.  
"You're not gonna teach him anything, you understand me? Not over my dead body," he said.  
"Oh. Well, you're right about that," Ruby said.  
"What you are gonna do is crawl back into whatever slop you came from and never bother me or my family again. Are we clear?" Dean said.  
"Your brother is carrying a bomb inside of him and we'd be stupid not to use it," Ruby said.  
"Dean, look, just hold on for one-" Sam started, only to be interrupted by Dean.  
"Sam! Don't. Come on man, what, are you blind? Can't you see that this is a trick?" Dean asked him.  
"Dean's right, you can't trust demons," Bobby said.  
"That's not true," Ruby said.  
"Sure," Alice put in, getting a glare from Ruby.  
"She wants you to give into this whole demonic psychic whatever, okay. I mean hell, she probably wants you to become her little anti-christ Super Star," Dean went on.  
"I want Lilith dead. That's all," Ruby said angrily.  
"Why?" Alice asked.  
"I've already told them why! If you wanna know so bad, you can get it from them," Ruby spat at her.  
"Oh, right, yeah. Because you were human once and you liked kittens and long walks on the beach," Dean said mockingly.  
"You know, I am so sick of proving myself to you. You wanna save yourself, this is how. You dumb, spineless dick," Ruby hissed at Dean.  
Dean looked at her, and then turned around as if to walk away, but instead turned back quickly with a right hook, which connected with her face. Sam backed away a bit, looking surprised. Ruby stumbled backwards, bumping into the table and knocking the pendulum device off of it. She straightened, and wiped the blood from her lip, before launching herself at Dean, knocking him to the ground as Alice, Sam and Bobby yelled in protest, rushing to pull them apart. Sam and Bobby held Dean back, and when Ruby tried to go at the three of them, Alice pulled her knife out, slashing at the blonde demon with it. Ruby ducked back, and dodged away a few steps.  
"You promised," she said, surprised.  
"You're trying to kill him for all I know," Alice said, not moving closer to her. Ruby stood, quivering with rage as she glared past Alice at Dean.  
"So you're just too stupid to live, is that it?" she said, backing out of the room slowly. "Then fine! You deserve hell! I wish I could be there, Dean. I wish I could smell the flesh sizzle off your bones! I wish I could be there to hear you scream!"  
"And I wish you'd shut your pie hole, but we don't always get what we want!" Dean yelled after her. They heard the outside door slam shut, and Alice turned to look at the three men behind her. Dean pushed Sam and Bobby away from him, wiping blood off a cut on his cheek and straightening his shirt furiously.  
"We should touch up your wards before we try to go anywhere," she told Bobby. "Riley should be here in a few hours, and we can leave her here with Dean."  
"So now I need a baby sitter too?" Dean asked angrily.  
"Yeah, I think you need someone to keep you from coming after us after we leave," Alice shot back. "Let's get this place salted up."

They spent two hours salting the perimeter of the house, and were planning to bless water in advance, but Bobby just brought the hose inside, saying that he'd gone ahead and blessed the reservoir that the town he lived nearby got water from a while back. Riley came by soon after, and Alice, Sam and Bobby left shortly after. Riley wished them luck, but they all refused to bid one another good bye. Dean watched them drive off from the kitchen window, while Riley sat down at the table. Was he worried? Yeah. Yeah he was. Mostly for Alice, Bobby and Sam, but mainly for Sam. He didn't want his brother doing anything else with that phsychic demon bullshit. He knew demons after what seemed to him like a lifetime of working to hunt them down and send them all back to hell(Really, he'd only gotten involved with them recently if you thought about it). They didn't just help people, and he believed with all his heart that Ruby was going to find some way to screw them over, even if it was true that she wanted Lilith dead as well. Of course, the fact that she wanted Lilith dead made him doubt how good of an idea it was to kill her at all, but he didn't see any other choice really, besides giving up and going to hell. He was a bit tempted to do that, but there were a few things holding him back, one being that he was starting to see some scary shit. His deal would be up at midnight, which wasn't all that far away. Alice told him that was what happened to people who made deals for their soul. When it was almost their time, they started 'piercing the veil'. Seeing over to the other side and all that. Of course, Bobby had made him feel loads better the way he'd phrased it. What'd he said? 'You're about to be hell's bitch, so now you can see hell's other bitch.' And woo, he'd thought Ruby was less than attractive before just because of her spiritual race or whatever, but man that broad was ugly. He wondered if that was from all the torture in hell, if that did that to their appearance. He gripped the counter a bit more tightly, jaw clenching trying to imagine how bad that could possibly be to do that to something. His thoughts were interrupted when Riley spoke. "I don't suppose you play mancala by any chance?" she asked, pulling a board and a bag of small beads out of her bag. They looked a bit like papaya seeds, which Dean had only seen once in his life, and had hoped never to see again. That particular fruit tasted a bit like vomit in his mind, though Sam claimed it was 'a refreshing change from chips.' Whatever, he'd take chips over that crap any day.  
"I've never heard of it," he said, sitting across from her, grateful for the distraction from his thoughts.  
"Well, I'll tell you about it. Great game, once you get familiar with it. Great game anyway, but all games are better once you know them, right?" Riley asked, starting to set it up, smiling at him.  
He returned the smile as best as he could. Riley hadn't really seemed like the overly chatty type, at least not with him and Sam, the last time he'd seen her. Maybe she was loosening up a bit, feeling like she knew him better. Or maybe she was just trying to get his mind off of the temperature in the sauna. "Yeah," he agreed.

* * *

Sam and Alice were driving. Sam had taken the first shift, but they'd been on the road for nearly eight hours now, and Alice was taking a shift. It was just after nightfall, and they expected to reach New Harmony around midnight. Bobby was following a ways behind them, and Sam was starting to nod off. He jerked awake when a siren sounded from behind them, and lights started flashing.  
"We getting pulled over?" he asked.  
Alice glanced into the rearview mirror. "Looks like," she said. She pulled the car over, and the police car stopped behind it. Alice rolled down her window as Sam fished through the glove compartment. The police officer walked up to the window, flashlight in hand. "Problem officer?" Alice asked.  
"Licence and registration, please," the officer said.  
Sam handed Alice the papers, and she handed them to the officer, who looked them over. Alice hadn't looked at him straight once yet.  
"You Mr. Hagard?" he asked.  
"He is," she said, pointing to Sam.  
"Do you have a license?" the officer asked her. She nodded, and fished it out of her pocket, handing it to him.  
"Do you realise you have a tail-light out, Ms. Banshen?" he asked.  
Alice finally looked directly at his face, and swallowed down a scream when she did, her hands starting to shake involuntarily. "Yes... yes sir. Uh... you know I've been meaning to... take care of that," she said. She turned back to look out of the wind shield. He was a demon. Alright, she could handle demons. She could kill demons. Yes, demons could die. This wasn't hell where things couldn't be killed, or you couldn't fight back. This was her turf here. Why did it scare her like this, that she saw their faces, and lost it? She took a breath, her eyes darting back to the officer, in the mirror, steeling herself to do something.  
"As a matter of fact..." she started. She never finished, instead suddenly opening her door as quickly as she could, hitting the demon in the stomach with it, and leaping out of the car.  
"Alice!" Sam yelled at her, but she didn't hear him as the demon straightened and rushed her. She dodged, and got in a kick, knocking the demon into the car as her heart pounded in her ears as loudly as a stampede. She punched him three times swiftly, and he still seemed too stunned by her initial outburst to really fight back. She pulled her knife out of the sheath hanging off her belt, and thrust it up through his jaw, yellow-orange light streaming from him as he writhed under her. He went limp, the light going out, and she pulled the knife from him, letting him fall to the ground at her feet. She noticed that both Sam and Bobby were now out of the cars, staring at her. She stood for a moment, breathing heavily, adrenaline and fear still running strong through her. She swallowed, bending over and wiping the blood off her knife on his shirt, before putting it back into the sheath.  
"What the hell happened?" Bobby demanded.  
"That was a demon Alice just killed. How'd you know?" Sam asked. It didn't take Alice very long to figure out she wasn't going to tell them how she was seeing the demons real faces.  
"Instinct," she said quickly, but not quickly enough that it sounded like a lie. She'd been lying for long enough to know not to rush certain things, especially when already being out of breath and high on adrenaline would cover any obvious tells for you. "I've been hunting these bastards long enough to tell sometimes."  
"That's some hell of an instinct," Bobby said.  
"We'd better get the body and the car off the road before someone shows up," Sam said.

* * *

Sam and Bobby hauled the body off, while Alice drove the car a little ways into the woods by the side of the road, taking care to avoid leaving prints, hair, or anything else that could identify her to authorities in the car. The last thing she needed was her DNA in some database. Bobby and Sam caught up with her soon afterwards, and the put the officer back into his car, before covering it up with branches and smattering dirt over it to keep it from glinting too brightly.  
"Now what are you people doing?" a voice came from behind them while they were about halfway through.  
"Rufus? What the hell are you doing here?" Bobby asked.  
"I thought you were on a hunt," Sam said.  
"I was. But I killed the thing," Rufus said.  
"So what are you doing here?" Alice asked.  
"I was driving home, and I realized just how boring my life was gonna be if I tried to retire. And, since I'm getting a bit old for this hunting gig, I thought I'd go down swinging. So, I headed back to Bobbys, but you were already gone. Dean and that other hunter told me I just missed you by thirty minutes or something dumb, so I broke speed limits and hauled ass to get here," he said.  
"You mean you want to help us get Lilith?" Sam asked.  
"I guess," Rufus said. He broke a branch off a nearby tree, putting it over a spot they'd missed, peering in the window before he did.  
"So what'd this poor bastard do, honk at you?" he asked, directing the question at Alice.  
"How come you assume I'm the one who killed him?" Alice asked.  
"Single stab wound to the head, and kinda hard to tell from here, but it looks like one edge of the knife was serrated for sure, and the knife was about two inches at the base. Sounds a lot like your knife to me," Rufus said.  
"You sound pretty familiar with it," Alice said suspiciously.  
"Who do you think had it immediately after you died?" Rufus asked.  
"I assumed it was Ruby," Alice said.  
Rufus scoffed. "Yeah, like I was gonna let some demon skank walk away, with a knife like yours at that," he said.  
"Well, she walked away," Alice said.  
"Yeah, well, you can't get every one every time," Rufus said. "So what's the plan of attack for once we get over to where Lilith is?"  
"Uh... improvise once we get there and see what there is to be seen," Sam said.  
Rufus looked at him like he was expecting him to pull out some kind of punch line, his eyebrows creeping higher and higher for every second he didn't, until he finally shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest.  
"I would laugh if that wasn't so damn sad. Are you serious?" he asked. They all nodded somberly, and Rufus laughed then. "Well, this is a terrific plan. I'm excited to be a part of it. Can we go?" he asked. He walked away, and the others followed him.

* * *

It was 11:00. Dean and Riley had played so much mancala that he thought he was probably a professional player by now. At least, he was good enough to give Riley a bit of a challenge, which she said was impressive. They were starting another game, and Dean noticed Riley was glancing out the window a lot.  
"Expecting someone?" he asked.  
Riley chuckled tensely and shook her head. "No. I hate to say it, but I've seen a few deals like yours ending, and it ain't pretty," she said. Dean realized she was looking for demons outside. They played in silence for a few moments, before Dan heard a howl from outside that made him jump in his chair. His heart beat sped up, and every hair on his body stood straight up. He swallowed hard as both his and Riley's eyes turned towards the window. She got up and peered out of it, and Dean followed after a moments hesitation.  
"Can you see anything?" Riley asked. Dean nodded slowly, his eyes moving over the yard outside. There were monstrous hounds there, deformed and twisted. The one that had howled, a truly enormous beast the size of a horse met his eyes, and it's eyes... it's eyes were black as a demons, but they somehow managed to... they didn't glow, not really. But they were darker even the the night outside, the moon completely blocked by clouds. Like holes in the world, leading into another realm full of pain and suffering. For a moment, everything around the hound looking at him changed as well, though he didn't take his eyes from the hounds. He could see fire and smoke, and twisting darkness, demons making their way around. He could feel scorching heat on his skin, so hot it felt like it was going to sizzle from his body. The worst of all was the screaming though. He couldn't see who was screaming, but it sounded like a million souls, and the sounds they were making were barely human, screeches and roars of pure agony that sent vibrations through his very bones. He broke away from the hounds gaze, and fell to the floor, gasping for breath as his heart pounded and he shook. He was terrified. Not scared. Not a bit shaken. He was fucking terrified like he'd never been in his entire life before. He knew that he'd glimpsed hell. And some instinct told him that he hadn't even seen the bad part.  
"You okay?" Riley asked, crouching down. He wanted to shake his head, and curl up into a ball and hide in the darkest corner he possibly could. But he was Dean Winchester. Not some scared little girl. He nodded, forcing himself to his feet.  
"Let's finish the game," he said, forcing a smile. "See if I can beat you before I go to hell."  
Riley tried to smile, but it fell flat. "Yeah," she said. "Let's do that."

* * *

They were all a ways away from the address the tracking spell had given them, peering at it through the binoculars. Alice watched as a mother brought in a birthday cake to a little girl in a white dress. She could see from here that the girl was a demon, as well as a few others around the neighborhood, but she still didn't want to tell Sam, Bobby and especially not Rufus that she was seeing demons. She was pretty sure that the girl was the one they were looking for, but she was waiting for a sign, something that would-  
"Okay, it's the girl," she said.  
"How do you know?" Sam asked.  
"She pointed at some old guy, presumably grandpa, and he broke out in blisters," Alice said.  
"Are you sure she wasn't pointing at him because he broke out in blisters?" Rufus asked, taking the binoculars from her. He put them down grimly, nodding.  
"Yeah, it's her. She just twirled her hand, and old guys neck snapped. That'd be some coincidence," Rufus said.  
"Alright then, let's go. We're wasting time," Sam said.  
"Wait!" Bobby said.  
"For what? For it to kill the rest of them?" Alice asked.  
"Yeah, and us too if we're ain't careful," Bobby said.  
"Look, it's going to be simple, we sneak in the back, maybe pull a few distractions for the other demons around here, and then-"  
"And then what? Give a 'Columbian necktie' to a ten year old girl? That's harsh," Bobby said.  
"Look, Bobby, I know it's awful," Alice started.  
"You think?" Bobby shot back.  
"This isn't just about saving Dean though. We're going to save a lot more people than that by killing her," Alice said.  
Bobby didn't look like he liked it one bit, but he nodded, setting his jaw in determination.

* * *

Sam, Rufus and Alice went about picking off the demon sentries, one at a time, drawing them out, and them killing them in less visible places. They sent Bobby to bless the water that supplied all of the houses, Alice having gotten the idea from what Bobby had done in his home town. When they'd gotten all of the obvious ones, they met back behind the house next to the one Lilith was in. She was high on adrenaline, which was the only reason she heard the soft footsteps behind her, just in time to dodge out of the way as a demon hurled itself at her. It came at her again so quickly it was a blur, and they rolled to the ground, the demon coming out on top. Alice reached down to grab her knife, before remembering that Rufus had it at the moment. She cursed herself, and tried to wrestle the demon off her. She was almost as strong as a demon, but not quite, and the demon won out, pinning her hands down and reaching down. Alice thought it was going for a weapon of it's own, before she realized it didn't need weapons. It was looking for her knife.  
"Where's my knife bitch?" Ruby asked her. All Alice could see when she looked at her was the unrecognizably awful face typical of demons.  
"It's my knife, so go fuck yourself," Alice said, trying to buck her hips to get her off, but not succeeding. Ruby tried to wrap her hands around Alices neck, but a voice from behind stopped her.  
"Get off her now," Rufus said. Ruby froze for a second, and Alice took it to roll out from under her, but rather than maintain a position atop her, she sprang to her feet immediately, backing away quickly. Ruby stood, brushing herself off, and smiling warily at Rufus as Sam and Bobby rounded the corner.  
"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus," Rufus began.  
"Rufus, she's locked in there, that won't do anything," Alice said.  
"Omnis satanica potentas," Rufus went on, winking at Alice. Ruby grit her teeth, and cursed at Rufus, rushing at him, but Alice intercepted her, knocking her over. She might not be a big fan of Rufus Turner, but she needed all the help she could get right now to kill Lilith.  
"Omnis incursio infernalis advrsarii, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica, ergo, draco maledict ecclesiam tuam," Rufus went on as Alice struggled to hold the thrashing demon down.  
"Rufus, quit clowning around and stab her for fucks sake!" Alice yelled. Ruby was screeching, probably getting the attention of every demon for three miles around.  
"Secura tibi facias libertate, sevire, te rogamus, audi no!" Rufus finished forcefully. Alice fell back in surprise as Rubys back arched, her fingers digging into the ground as she smoked out in a long stream of pitch black smoke, until it ended, and she wound off into the night, leaving Alices sisters body behind.  
"What did... I don't understand. She was locked in," Alice said, looking at Rufus in astonishment. "And that wasn't even the full exorcism."  
"Abridged version. Works just as well, and won't kill you of boredom before the demon does," Rufus said, walking over to her sisters limp body. He turned her over and pulled her shirt down just enough to reveal a slash across the back of her left shoulder, straight through the symbol that locked a demon permanently into it's host. Alice processed that while Rufus explained.  
"She got away after you died, but not before I got a few good hits in," Rufus said. "That being one of them."  
"So she's... is she-" Alice cut off as her sister coughed, spasming, before drawing a few shaky breaths, and opening her eyes. "Allison?" Alice asked tentatively.  
"Allison? You're Alice and your sister's Allison?" Bobby asked.  
"Give 'em a moment," Rufus said.  
Allison clenched her fists, moving her fingers, and then twisting her shoulders, kicking with her legs as if trying them out. She sat up, propping herself up on her elbows, and turning to look at Alice, her face breaking into a smile. She cleared her throat.  
"Hey sis," she said.  
Alice laughed, and hugged her, and Sam watched, realizing the despite the circumstances, he'd never seen Alice this happy. She was positively glowing.  
"Ally! Oh Ally, I'm so sorry, I tried so hard," Alice said.  
"I know you did. It wasn't your fault, none of it was," Allison said.  
"But I don't understand," Alice said, breaking away from the embrace. "You sold your soul. They should have collected on that a long time ago."  
"They couldn't, because Ruby tied us both in," Allison said.  
"And they didn't come after you?" Alice asked.  
"They tried, but she had the knife, so they gave up after a while. I guess the decided the had bigger fish to fry, and wiped my deal," Allison said, smiling.  
"Hey, I hate to break up this happy reunion, but..." Bobby trailed off, pointing to where they could see a horde of demons assembled.  
"So much for the element of surprise," Sam said.  
"Go. Go. Run. Run!" Rufus said.  
Alice helped Allison to her feet, and they ran for Liliths house, the demons in hot pursuit. Sam reached the house first and started picking the lock on the door. ehind him, looking towards the lawn as more people are running after them. Alice, Allison and Rufus reached it next, but Bobby had split off, going for the hose spicket. The demons were getting closer, and Allison pushed Sam out of the way.  
"Demenai Dervisai Inacatanem," she said. The locked clicked, and the door swung open inwards just as the sprinklers turned on. The demons who had made it to the lawn screamed, running out of the blessed water screaming. Sam was looking at Allison with a conflicting mixture of reverance and fear. She stepped over the threshold, and Alice followed, whispering 'witch' to Sam as she passed him. Alice wrinkled her nose at the smell inside, and the fact that it was apparently coming from the body of an old woman just inside, crawling with flies and maggots.  
"You think Lilith knows we're here?" Sam whispered.  
"I'd say so," Rufus said.  
They looked around a bit, seeing the average things. Pictures on the walls, some done in crayon. The place was perfectly clean(Besides the body, that is), and there was a stairway going upstairs. Allison signed to her sister that she was going to check upstairs, and Alice signed back for her to be careful. Sam saw, and added it to the growing list of languages he knew Alice was fluent in. Rufus went up with Alice, and Bobby headed into the kitchen, while Sam and Alice took the living room. Sam was holding the knife like a gun, and Alice frowned, snatching it away from him, and holding it properly. He motioned for her to give it back, but she pretended that she didn't see him.  
Sam walked past a cabinet, and the door creaked slightly. He heard it, and spun around, grabbing a man who was peeking out of the cabinet, and covering his mouth with his hand before he could yell. Alice turned, recognizing the man as having been at the table earlier.  
"We're here to help. Ok? I'm gonna move my hand, and we're gonna talk quietly, okay?" Sam asked.  
The man nodded, and Sam moved his hand.  
"Sir, where is your daughter?" Sam asked.  
"It's not... it's not her anymore," the man said, both in fear and sorrow.  
"Where is she?" Sam asked.  
"Upstairs. In her bedroom," the man said. Alice met Sams eyes, and he nodded, and she hurried out of the room, heading upstairs.  
"Okay, okay, okay. Listen to me. I want you to go downstairs to the basement. Put a line of salt at the door behind you. Do you understand me?" Sam said.  
"Not without my wife," the man said.  
"Yes, without your wife," Sam said.  
"No," the man insisted.  
Sam considered his options quickly, and punched the man in the temple, knocking him out. He slung him over his shoulder, and carried him off to look for the basement.

Alice met Bobby in the hall, and pointed up the stairs. He nodded to show he understood, and she started up first, him following her. They checked a two doors, and the third one had a canopy bed in it, with the clear forms of a woman and a child lying in it. Bobby took the lead, taking the knife from Alice, and she let him, standing back to watch the door in case any demons got past the sprinklers.  
"Do it!" she heard the woman hiss from in the bed. She glanced back to see the child moving, starting to wake up. It looked like the woman was starting to panic, while Bobby was losing his nerve, which was understandable since it was a kid. Alice walked up to him, though she immediately realized that it wasn't neccessary. He was about to-  
She grabbed his arm, pulling him back as she saw that the girl was no longer possessed.  
"It's not her!" she hissed. Her harsh whisper was enough to wake the girl up. She started sobbing when she saw Bobby holding the knife.  
"It's not in the girl anymore," Alice said again, taking the knife from Bobby.  
"Mommy!" the girl cried.  
"Mommy's here. Mommy's here. It's okay," the woman said, hugging the girl.  
"If she ain't there, where is she?" Bobby asked.  
"I don't know," Alice said. She pulled the mother out of bed, steering her into the hall and starting her down the stairs. "Get to the basement, your husband's there. Don't leave, and don't break the salt line, it'll keep you safe," she said quickly, before turning back to Bobby as the mother and daughter headed downstairs.  
"Could she get past the sprinklers?" Bobby asked.  
"Her pay grade, holy water doesn't worry her," Alice said. "We should find Sam and my sister, warn them," she said. They checked a few of the other rooms, before hearing a thump, and a cry from down the hall. They exchanged a glance, and then ran down the hall, to the room they'd heard it coming from. They burst in, to see Sam up against a wall, Allison smirking.  
"Ally?" Alice questions, knowing it was well within her sisters power to do that to someone, but still wary, a horrible feeling of dread in her gut.  
Allison turned to her, her smile growing as she blinked. When her eyes opened, they were pure white. Alice straightened, trying to keep herself thinking instead of being reduced to an emotionally driven mess.  
"Lilith," she said.  
"Hey there... Alice," the demon said. "I've heard quite a bit about you. And Sam here. Nice to finally meet you in person. You're both something close to legends where I come from. It's going to be nice to be the one that kills you." Alice was flying backwards suddenly, slammed against the wall. She could see Bobby on the floor in the corner. She'd managed to hold onto her knife, which she supposed was something.  
"Get out of her," Alice growled.  
"But I like it in here. It's all grown up and pretty," Lilith said. She spotted the knife Alice was clutching, and tsked. "Someone's trying to be a bad girl." The blade grew hot in Alices hand, and though she held it for as long as she could bear to, she was forced to drop it, her palm burnt. Lilith surveyed the damage done with pleasure, before turning to Sam, and cupping his face in her hand. His lip curled up in disgust, but he couldn't move to resist.  
"You know you're prettier than they give you credit for," Lilith said grabbed hold of his chin, forcing him to face her. She placed her lips on his, and Alice could see his face contort in loathing.  
"Your lips are soft," Lilith said. "Funny. All the stories I hear credit your brother as being the prettier one."  
"Right, so you have me. Let my brother out of his deal," Sam said, looking down on her from his spot on the wall. "Silly goose. You wanna bargain, you have to have something that I want. You don't," Lilith said.  
"How do you know that? Maybe we do," Alice said.  
Lilith turned to look at her. "I'm pretty sure you don't have anything I want," she said. She looked up at a grandfather clock in the corner as it struck twelve. "And it looks like your friends time is up too," she remarked, a smirk growing on her face. Alice caught Rufus peering around the corner of the room, and met his eyes, glancing to the knife near her feet. He saw it, and nodded to her. She fixed her eyes on Lilith as she put a finger to her own chin, looking around at Bobby, Sam and Alice. "So which of you volunteers to die first?" Her eyes landed on Sam. "You? Wonderful," she said, moving a bit closer. Sam struggled to get down from the wall, but it was no use. Alice was forced to close her eyes as a bright white light suddenly erupted in the room. Alice fell forward with a thump, landing hard on her hands and knees as the light vanished. She saw that she had fallen from the wall, as had Bobby, and Sam was lying limp on the floor. Lilith turned to Alice, grinning, her eyes showing through. Alices eyes were drawn back to Sam as he started moving behind her groaning as he got to his feet. Lilith turned to look at him in astonishment. Things happened very quickly, at least for Alice. Rufus darted forward, and grabbed the knife off of the floor, going at Lilith, who was still staring at Sam in horror. She noticed Rufus, and caught hold of his wrist, holding the knife at bay, but only just. Sam started towards her, and she smoked out quickly, the blast of white blowing out the window suddenly. Her grip on Rufus' wrist went slack, and the knife flew forward, driving itself into Allisons stomach.  
"Ally!" Alice shrieked, struggling to her feet to run over to her sister, in time to get her arms around her before she hit the ground. Alices hands flew over her helplessly.  
"Just hold on Ally, we can fix you. It's not that bad, right? Like that time in 1890. We can fix you," Alice said.  
Allison winced, blood showing at the corners of her mouth as she shook her head. "We had a witch then Alice. Not now."  
"You are a witch, can't you fix yourself?" Sam asked.  
"You try doing anything when you've got a knife in your gut, idjit," Bobby said.  
"Ally, please. I need you. I just got you back, you can't go again," Alice said.  
"You don't need anyone Alice. You can take care of yourself just fine. You know... I'm so proud of you," Allison said, taking her hand. Alices eyes were glistening with unshed tears.  
"And Grandma... If- if she'd been able to see you now... she'd be so- so proud of you Alice," Allison said.  
"No," Alice said firmly. "No, we're not doing this. You're going to pull through this, just like you did everything else. If you don't I'm not ever gonna forgive you. Ally? God damn it Ally!" Allison didn't respond, her eyes blank and unseeing, her grip on Alices hand relaxed. Alice stared at her for a moment, shaking with silent tears that never fell. She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, they were cold and clear. The eyes Rufus was used to seeing on Alice Smith.  
"Let's go," she said, standing to walk away.  
"What about your sister?" Rufus asked, though he suspected he knew the answer.  
"Leave her," Alice said coldly.  
"What?" Sam demanded.  
"You heard me. Now we have to get the hell out of dodge, because Lilith is still out there, and that means that Dean's deal is still in place. We have to do something, and fast, before Lilith does it first," Alice said.

The clock struck twelve at Bobbys, and Dean and Riley both looked at it. All of the hell hounds outside started howling at the same time, and Dean swallowed drily. He got up, heading to the fridge to get a beer.  
"You want one?" he asked as he fished one out of a drawer, though Riley didn't really strike him as the drinking type.  
"No thanks," Riley said. Dean straightened, popping the cap off the bottle, and turning to see Riley leveling a gun at him.  
"Riley?" he questioned. Her hand shook.  
"I'm sorry son. I really am. It's kind of better this way, y'know? I've seen what those hounds do to a person. Trust me, you're better off with me doing you in," Riley said.  
"Alice trusted you," Dean said, taking what he assumed was going to be his last swig of beer.  
"They've got my grand son. I can't just let them kill him, not when the alternative is killing someone I don't even know," she said. Dean set the beer down, and spread his arms out to the side.  
"Go on then. Give me your best shot," he said.  
"I'm sorry," she said again, before she fired. Dean fell to the floor, and the hell hounds all fell silent instantly. Riley looked away from him quickly, not even caring enough to pack her mancala set before heading out the door. She was certain that Alice would hunt her down, and probably do worse than kill her after this, but at least her grand son would live.

Alice and Sam were in the Impala, driving back to Sioux Falls. Sam was driving, and Alice was calling Bobbys phone. No one answered, so she tried Deans phone, and again, nothing. She tried Rileys, and finally got an answer.  
"Riley? What the hell's going on up there? I called Dean, he didn't answer. Is he okay?" Alice asked. Riley didn't answer her.  
"Riley? What happened?"  
"I'm sorry Alice. They had my grand son," Riley said.  
"Riley, you- Tell me I'm thinking the wrong thing," Alice said.  
"I killed him Alice. And I know, the bastards'll still probably kill my grand son. But I tried. I'm sorry." Riley hung up, leaving Alice holding the phone.  
"Alice? What happened? Is Dean okay?" Sam asked.  
"He's dead," she said flatly, all emotion gone from her voice and expression.  
"What?" Sam demanded, pulling the car over. Alice shrugged.  
"He's dead." She opened her door, got out, and started walking. Sam jogged to catch up with her while Bobby and Rufus pulled over.  
"What are you doing?" Sam asked.  
"I don't know yet," Alice said, her voice still an odd, deadpan tone. "I'll probably end up killing something with teeth. Or maybe something with teeth'll kill me. It'd be about time."  
"Sam, what happened?" Bobby asked, jogging to catch up with him.  
"It's Dean," Sam said. "He- He's-" he choked on the words, but Bobby understood.  
"Alice!" he called after her. She didn't do so much as turn to look at him. "Alice!" he called again, starting after her, but Rufus held her back.  
"Let her go. She'll do her own thing, pull through. Like she always does," Rufus said. "Let's go get your brother Sam," he said gently.

They found Dean lying in a half-dried pool of his own blood by the time they got back. Rufus commented that they would be thankful it wasn't a hound that got him, but that didn't seem to be much of a comfort to Sam, who insisted on burying Dean in the ground rather than salting and burning him. He left almost as soon as Dean was in the ground. Rufus stayed a while before deciding to head out.  
"Rufus, I got a question for you," Bobby asked as he was leaving.  
"What?" Rufus asked.  
"If you hate Alice so much, and want her dead, why'd you exorcise her sister 'stead of just killin' her?" he asked.  
"Not sure. Guess since I'd had a beer earlier I feeling soft," Rufus said.  
"Then why didn't you kill Alice afterwards?" Bobby asked.  
"Same reason," Rufus said as he started his car up. "See you 'round Bobby," he said, backing out.  
Bobby watched him go, before walking back inside.

Alice was in a hotel room, on her knees, doing something she hadn't done in a very long time.  
"It's been a while," she said out loud, her eyes closed and her hands clasped in front of her. "And I guess we didn't part on the best of terms. But please, God, if you're listening... please save Dean Winchester. He's a good man. He's saved a lot of people, and he got sent to hell for trying to save his brother. He doesn't deserve hell. I don't care what you or you angels do with me. Just..." she opened her eyes and looked up. "Do what you've said you will over and over. Save a righteous man from unjust suffering."  
There was a moment of silence, and then she heard a fluttering behind her, and she knew there was an angel with her. She'd known when she decided to pray that they would come for her. Heaven still had qualms with her for encouraging so much rebellion, and for killing so many innocents.  
"Hello Alice," a voice from behind her said. She stood, turning to see a dark hair man in a tan trench coat.  
"Cut the polite crap. I'm ready," she said, spreading her arms.  
"I'm sorry," the angel said.

**Note: This is the last chapter of Three Knives, since I think the story had evolved so that the title doesn't really apply anymore, but I'm already working the next one in what I plan make a series of three. So bear with me, and thanks so much to those who've stuck with this far for putting up with me and my crappy story, lol :D**


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